Livy, Book 21-25; the second Punic War. Translated into English with notes by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb

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LIVY.

Books XXL— XXV.

TIL

L I V Y

BOOKS XXI.— XXV.

FHE SECOND PUNIC WAR.

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH,
WITH NOTES.

MY

ALFRED JOHN CHURCH, M.A.,

OF LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD,
PROFESSOR OF LATIN, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON,

WILLIAM JACKSON BRODRIBB, M.A.,

LATE FELLOW OF ST. JOHn's COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. ) ij

WITH MAPS.

J^oitbon :
MACMILLAN AND CO.

1883.

ILonDon :

R. Clay, Sons, and Taylor,

BREAD STREET HILL.

PREFACE.

The. best known translation of Livy is, we believe, that
of Baker, published in 1797. We have often consulted it,
and it has, we think, considerable merits, though here and
there it sinks into mere loose paraphrase.

It is hardly necessary to say a word in favour of the
particular selection we have made from levy's great work.
Nowhere does his vivid and animated style appear to
greater advantage than in his narrative of Hannibal's con-
flict with Rome, especially in its earlier and more exciting
stages, when Rome's very existence seemed to be in
jeopardy.

We have translated almost invariably from the text of
Madvig and Ussing, 1862.

A. J. C.
W. J. B.

MAPS.

ITALY AND CARTHAGINIAN DOMINIONS FtOllt'lSpiece

SPAIN . . . . ■ To face page \

yl_

CONTENTS.

PAGE

INTRODUCTION ix

LIVY AND HIS HISTORY XVU

SUMMARY xxvii

BOOK XXI. B.C. 2l8 I

BOOK XXII. B.C. 217, 216 64

BOOK XXIII. B.C. 2X6, 215 I32

BOOK XXIV. B.C. 215-213 192

BOOK XXV. B.C. 213, 212 250

NOTES 311

CHARACTER OF HANNIBAL (XXI. 4) 323

HANNIBAL'S ROUTE ACROSS THE ALPS '"25

NOTE ON SYRACUSE (XXIV. 2l) 333

3S

INTRODUCTION.

''^'■•.6C

Livy'S narrative presumes a knowledge of the antecedents
of the Second Punic War, which we here summarise for the
reader's convenience.

The relations between Rome and Carthage date from a very
early period. A treaty was concluded between the two powers
in B.C. 509, the year after the expulsion of the kings. Polybius
(III. 22) gives the substance of it, admitting, at the same time,
that the archaic Latin in which it was expressed was perplexing p
to the most learned men of his day. ^_It_provided that neither \yOVW-
Romans nor allies of Rome were to sail for trading purposes i^f^ j
beyond the_ headland known as Apollinis Promontorium, now
Cape Farina, situated immediately to the north-west of Carthage ;
that in the part of Sicily subject to Carthage, Roman and Car-
thaginian traders were to have the same rights, that the Cartha-
.ginians were not to occupy any fortified position in Latium, or
to do any injury to any of Rome's subjects or allies, or indeed
to meddle with any Itahan city, whether subject to Rome or not.
By "beyond the headland," Polybius explains that the coast
eastwards was meant, with special reference to the seaports
known as Emporia, Phoenician colonies on the shores of the
Lesser Syrtis. But westward of this promontory to any point
along the coasts of Numidia or Mauritania, as well as to
Sardinia or Sicily, Roman traders were free to go.

_ Polybius observes that the provisions of this treaty imply that
Carthage claimed Sardinia and Libya as her own territory, but
only certain portions of Sicily, these portions being, it would
appear, the west and north-west coasts. It is clear that this
great commercial city wished to exclude the Roman traders from
the eastern waters of the Mediterranean. Equally anxious wqs

X INTRODUCTION.

Rome to keep Italy, though only a portion of it was actually
under her subjection, to herself, and to guard its shores from
those piratical raids to which the Phoenicians were addicted.

^ A second treaty was negotiated in B.C. 347, with, on the
whole, less favourable conditions for Roman traders. In this
treaty Carthage did not speak for herself alone, but claimed to
represent the Tyrian peoples generally, and the important city
of Utica, also a Tyrian colony. Rome was to confine her trad-
ing and piratical expeditions within narrow limits on the coast
of Africa, and was to be wholly excluded from Sardinia. As to
'Sicily, matters were to be on the footing of the older treaty. So
also, as before, Carthage was not to meddle with Roman terri-
tory in Italy ; should her corsairs capture any town on the Latin
shores that was not subject to Rome, the plunder and the cap-
tives might be retained, but the town itself was to be surren-
dered, Carthage was to have no settlements or possessions on
the coasts of Italy. Rome, on her side, was to inflict no injury
on any town or people on friendly terms with Carthage. The
treaty was to be binding on the allies of the two powers.

Rome's trade, as well as her military strength, had, it may be
presumed, grown considerably in the interval between the two
treaties, and Carthage felt she must guard the interests of her
own commerce by further restrictions. The effect of this last
treaty would be to secure to her the largest and most profitable
part of the trade of the Mediterranean.

A third treaty, concluded in B.C. 279, at the time of Pyrrhus,
invasion of Italy, ratified the terms of the two preceding treaties'
and further provided for a defensive alliance between Rome and
Carthage, the latter power undertaking to put her fleet at the
service of her ally for purposes of transport, and even of actual
war, short of the obligation to disembark troops on the enemy's
territory. A record of this treaty, inscribed on a brass tablet, was
kept in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus ; this Polybius had, it
would appear, personally inspected, and he takes occasion to
note what he describes as an unaccountable error made by a
contemporary writer, Philinus, who published a history of the
First Punic War. The Romans, according to this writer, were,
by this third treaty, wholly excluded, from Sicily, as the Cartha-
ginians were from Italy, and were consequently guilty of a gross
breach of international engagements, when they crossed over
nto the island to the support of the Mamertines (men of Mars),

INTRODUCTION. xi

as a disreputable band of freebooters from Campania called
themselves. The act of invading Sicily, Polybius states posi-
tively, was not a violation of any treaty-obligation, though it was
undoubtedly a discreditable thing for the Romans to ally them-
selves to such a cause. The war which ensued between Rome
and Carthage may be fairly traced to Roman intervention in
support of the treacherous seizure of Messana by a set of robbers,
and such intervention can have been prompted only by a greed
of empire.

The First Punic War began in B.C. 264 and ended in B.C. 241
with the decisive victory of the Roman admiral, Lutatius Catulus,
at the Agates Islands off the west coast of Sicily. It was a hard-
fought struggle, glorious, no doubt, for the conquerors, whose
ultimate triumph was the reward of the persevering energy which
had created a navy, and had wrested from the mistress of the
Mediterranean her maritime superiority. It was clearly proved
that in naval strength, and indeed in the long run, in material
strength, Rome was superior to Carthage. Rome's first aim and
object, for which she counted no sacrifice too costly, was empire ;
with Carthage it was commercial success and wealth. Rome
loved to fight with her own citizens ; Carthage must employ
mercenaries. At the conclusion of the war Roman trade and
Roman finance were sorely crippled, and were probably in a far
worse plight than those of her rival ; but in the event of a renewal
of the contest everything pointed to a similar result.

The name of Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal, first
became famous in this war, and it was through him that nego-
tiations for peace were set on foot by Carthage. He acted, says
Polybius, with the sagacity of a statesman who knows exactly
when to yield as well as when to persist. It was rather a truce
than a peace which he was arranging. The terms exacted by
Rome were such as to suggest that she did not wish to prolong
the struggle. The whole of Sicily was to be given up by the
Carthaginians, and also the islands between Italy and Sicily,
a.nd they were to restore without ransom all Roman prisoners, to
pay down 1,000 talents, and a further sum of 2,200 talents by ten
annual instalments, an amount in all equivalent to about ^800,000
of our money, though it should be understood that when estimated
in relation to modern finance it really represented a vastly larger
sum. All Carthaginian territory, properly so-called, was to be
recognised as perfectly independent of Rome, and neither Rome

xii INTRODUCTION.

nor Carthage were to enter into any separate engagement with
the allies of either power. These last conditions seem to have
been unsatisfactory to the popular party at Rome, which thought
that after the efforts and sacrifices they had made they had a
right to insist on depriving Carthage of her political independ-
ence. At first the assembly of the people refused to confirm the
action of the senate and to ratify the treaty of peace. The final
arrangements were made by Roman commissioners in Sicily.

Thus the main result to Rome of the First Punic War was
that Sicily became from that time a Roman dependency. The
Romans called it a province, but in using that term we must
understand that it was as yet not under the direct rule of Rome.
King Hiero, whose head-quarters were Syracuse, was Rome's ally
rather than her subject, and it was through him that Roman
influence made itself felt throughout the island. The Greek
cj^ties looked up to him with a respectful and friendly sentiment,
while they still retained their own municipal constitutions.

No sooner was the war with Rome over than Carthage found
herself face to face with a danger which threatened her very
existence. Her mercenary troops, now no longer needed, rose
on their return from Sicily to Africa in a furious mutiny, in which
they had the sympathy and support of the neighbouring native
population, which caught at the opportunity of shaking off the
yoke of Carthage. They were a mixed multitude gathered out of
the wild tribes of Europe and Africa ; " hordes of half naked Gauls
were ranged next to companies of white-clothed Iberians, and
savage Ligurians next to the far-travelled Nasamones and Loto-
phagi ; Carthaginians and Liby-Phoenicians formed the centre,
the former of whom were a sort of separate corps, dignified by
the title of the sacred legion ; while innumerable troops of
Numidian horsemen, taken from all the tribes of the desert,
swarmed round upon unsaddled horses and formed the wings ;
the van was composed of Balearic slingers, and a line of colossal
elephants with their Ethiopian guides formed, as it were, a chain
of moving fortresses before the whole army." It was the hard
^fate of Carthage to have to struggle for nearly three years with
<.the gigantic insurrection of this rude and motley host. The war
commonly known as the Mercenary or African war, was also
from the ferocity with which it was waged, spoken of as the
" truceless," or " inexpiable, war." Even at this terrible crisis
Carthage was not free from the rivalries of political factions,

INTRODUCTION. xiii

though ultimately the genius of Hamilcar won for her a com-
plete triumph as far as the immediate contest was concerned.
But before it was ended, her troops in Sardinia, which had also
mutinied, surrendered the island to Rome, and the surrender
was accepted in disregard of the terms of the last treaty. "Thus

_both_Sicily and Sardinia were lost to Carthage previous to the
Second Punic War. This was, of course, a severe blow to her
maritime power.

It was not long, however, before she obtained some compen-
sation for her losses. Under the conduct and direction of the

"great Hamilcar she acquired a large territory in Spain, where as
yet she had possessed only the small commercial centre of Gades
with its immediate vicinity. Spain was a country with a rough
and hardy population and all the material of an efficient army,
with a number of strong positions and hill-fortresses, and with
the sources of great wealth in the silver mines in its southern
districts. It was Hamilcar's aim to reduce it to a Carthaginian
dependency, and to raise from its warlike tribes a well- trained
infantry by way of supplement to the admirable Numidian
cavalry. We have not the means of tracing his operations in
detail, but we may take it as certain that he showed extraordi-
nary capacity both as a general and a statesman, and gave
Carthage a new source of both military and financial strength.
After his death, in B.C. 229, which occurred in battle with some

. tribes in the interior, his work was ably continued by his son-

.in-law, Hasdrubal ; the conquests of Carthage were confirmed,
several cities were founded, among them New Carthage (Carta-
gena) with its excellent harbour, and the mines in the neigh-
bourhood were worked with a great profit. It is probable that
the territory directly under Carthaginian rule comprised what
is now Andalusia, Granada, Murcia, and Valencia, and that
Carthaginian influence extended to the eastern shores of the
peninsula. Cacthage had thus not only recovered lost ground,
but had greatly added to her strength at all points. She had in
nerarmies a Tormidable infantry as well as splendid cavalry,
and her new possessions largely increased her means of furnish-
ing them with regular pay. She was in fact at the height of her_
.power when she entered on the Second Punic AVar.

Rome naturally did not like the state of affairs in Spain, and
the result was a treaty with Hasdrubal providing that the Car-
thaginians were not to advance east of the Ebro with designs of

xiv INTRODUCTION.

conquest. The treaty, so said the war-party at Carthage, was
"not concUided with the sanction of the home-government. _Pply-
bius (iii. 29) characterises this as an impudent statement, and,
though Polybius usually leans to the side of Rome, it seems ,
reasonable to assume that in such an important matter Has-
drubal, from his high position, must have been understood as
speaking in the name and with the authority of Carthage.
Hannibal's attack on Saguntum, which was to the west of 4lie
Ebro, was not indeed a violation of this treaty or compact with
Hasdrubal, but it was obviously meant as an insult to Romej^
whose allies, as he well knew, the Saguntines had been for maay
years. In this sense Carthage may be said to have provoked
the Second Punic War, though had Rome wished to put herself
in the right and to stand by the faith of treaties, she ought to
have given up Sardinia, which, as we have seen, she had acquired
by the treacherous surrender of the mutinous Carthaginian
garrison. The determination to avenge an undoubted and
comparatively recent wrong has usually been thought a just
aground for war.

'"^f^Ax^A^-Zijida^

LIVY AND HIS HISTORY.

LIVY AND HIS HISTORY.

Of Livy's life we really know nothing. If we can trust the
Chrotiicle of Eusebius, he wasjboxn 59 B.C., the year of the
consulship of Cassar and Bibulus, and he died 17 a.d., the fourth
year of the reign of the emperor Tiberius. Patavium (Padua)
was his birthplace. This may be considered as quite established,
on the authority of Symmachus and Sidonius Apollinaris, learned
writers in the fourth and fifth centuries A,D., and of a passage
in one of Martial's Epigrams (l. 62-3), which clearly connects
Livy with the district of Patavium. And there is the additional
fact that the eminent critic Asinius PoUio reproached him with
" Patavinity." A provincial, then, by birth, Livy was among the
number of the literary men of the Augustan age, and was the
contemporary of Horace and Virgil. We gather from Tacitus
{Annals, IV. 34) that he was on decidedly friendly terms with
Augustus, who used playfully to call him a " Pompeian "; whence
we infer that the historian's political sympathies were with the
repubhcan party. It is to be noted that in this same passage
Tacitus pays him a very high compliment, saying of him, that
he was "pre-eminently famous for eloquence and truthfulness."
We may take for granted that by truthfulness Tacitus meant?

political impartiality, which of course under the empire was
highly creditable to his honesty, rather than exact historical

^accuracy. It would seem certain that he stood well in the
favour of the court, as according to Suetonius {Life of Claudius,
41) the young Claudius Nero, Augustus's stepson, and after-
wards emperor, himself tried his hand at history on the strength
of Livy's advice. But it is too much to assume on such slender
ground that he was the prince's tutor. His fame as an historian

1)

xviii LIVY AND HIS HISTORY.

was so thoroughly established and so widely spread during his
lifetime, that a Spaniard from Cadiz, so Pliny tells us in one
of his Letters (^Epp. ii. 3), travelled to Rome merely to see
him. He wrote, it appears, a letter of literary advice to his son,
and from one sentence of this, which is quoted by Quintilian, it
has been conjectured that he began life as a teacher of rhetoric,
a conjecture indeed which has some plausibility, and which found
favour with Niebuhr. As to the two sons whom he is said to have
had, as to the marriage of one of his daughters to a rhetorician of
the name of Magius, as to his frequent visits to Naples and his
presentation to Augustus of some work on philosophy, all this,
though quietly assumed by his biographer, Tomasini, rests on a
story of an inscription said to have been preserved at Venice
of the history of which nothing is known. We must be content
to be in the dark about the particulars of Livy's life. We pass
on to his great literary work.

This he himself called Annals (xLiil. 13). It was nothing
less than an entire history of Rome, from the foundation o£. the
city to the year B.C. 9, the year of the death of Drusus in
Germany, and it was contained in one hundred and forty-two
books, of which unfortunately only thirty-five have come down
to us. It appears from Suetonius {Life of Caligula, 34) that
the crazy emperor Caligula was even on the point of destroying
them along with Virgil's works, on the ground of their
• prolixity and inaccuracy. However, it is almost certain that
' they were even in existence in the fourth and fifth centuries, but
during the pontificate of Gregory the Great, at the close of the
sixth century, it is said that strict orders were given for their
destruction. The Pope, it seems, had a special objection to
Livy' s history on account of its heathen legends and stories of
prodigies. It is possible, therefore, that the grievous loss we
have sustained may have been due to Gregory's foolish
fanaticism. There was a notion indeed that Livy's work was
still to be found entire in England in the twelfth century, as
William of Malmesbury quotes from the lost books. These
quotations, however, may have been merely derived from other
writers, and not directly from Livy. In the sixteenth century,
during the revival of letters, there were sanguine hopes of
recovering the whole work, and Pope Leo X. spared no effort

LIVY AND HIS HISTORY. , xix

to do so. There were flying stories that a perfect copy was to
be found in St. Columba's monastery at lona, or in the monastery
at Mount Athos, or in the island of Chios, or in the Escurial,
or even in the Sultan's seraglio, and it was further rumoured
that there were Arabic translations of it stowed away in the
libraries of Constantinople. There were many strange tales,
one that a portion of the second decade was found in the
parchment of a battledore ; that the player, who happened to
be a man of learning, went at once to the maker of the battle-
dore, but only to find that he had used Livy's last page for a
similar purpose. We must, we fear, finally resign ourselves to
the loss. It is indeed a grievous one, for the lost books contain
the later history of the Roman republic, with which Livy must
have been well acquainted. Arnold said that he would gladly
give up all that we now possess of Livy's work in exchange
for those portions which related the Italian war and the civil
wars between Sulla and Marius. We have indeed epitomes of
the one hundred and forty-two books, ten only excepted, and we
are thus able to form some notion of the plan and development
of the work. We have no means of knowing to whom we owe
these epitomes, but it is on the whole probable that they were
compiled shortly after the publication of the work. They are
not without their value, and are occasionally of real service to
us, but for the most part they are extremely meagre, and in some
cases they are comprised in two or three lines. For example,
the epitome of the 136th book merely tells us that it was
the narrative of the conquest of Rsetia by Tiberius and
Drusus.

Livy's history has been divided into decades or groups of
ten books ; a division dating, it would appear, from a com-
paratively late period, and suggested perhaps by the circumstance
that books i, 21, and 31, open with a brief preface. There
is no ground for supposing that the idea originated with the
author.

The first decade, which has come down to us entire, relates
the history from the foundation of Rome to the consolidation of
her power in Italy, in B.C. 294, by the thorough subjugation of
the Samnites, Rome's most formidable foe in the peninsula.

The second decade is lost. It brought the history down to

b 2

XX LIVY AND HIS HISTORY.

219 B.C., and contained the narrative of the war with Pyrrhus
and the first Punic war.

The third decade we possess entire. It gives us the account
of the second Punic war, ending in 201 B.C.

The fourth decade is entire. It brings us down to B.C. 179,
and tells us of the extension of Rome's empire in Cisalpine
Gaul and Macedonia.

Of the fifth decade half has come down to us. It ends with
the reduction of Macedonia into a Roman province, and the
triumph of ^milius Paulas for the final conquest of that country.
It brings us down to 167 B.C.

This is all we have of Livy's history — thirty-five books. Of
the remaining books we have nothing but a few fragments.
Of these, one from the 120th book is of great interest.
It is the account of the death of Cicero, and in it Livy
records his estimate of the famous orator's character. He
speaks of him with qualified praise, and plainly hints that
he was wanting in manliness. " Still, after all," he adds,
" if you weigh his merits against his defects, he was a great, an
" able, and very distinguished man, and to praise him adequately
'' we need a Cicero for his panegyrist." , Livy, it appears, dared
to speak his mind freely under Augustus, and here very possibly
we have an instance of the " truthfulness " which Tacitus, as
we have seen, mentions as one of his honourable characteristics.

Livy's history of the latter days of the republic must have
been very full and minute. What we possess brings us down,
as above stated, to the year 167 B.C., and his history closed with
the year 9 B.C. Consequently, no- less than ninety-five books
were devoted to the history of a period of one hundred and fifty-
eight years. This consideration is quite enough to show us
very plainly what a terrible historical loss we have sustained.
With Livy' s guidance it can hardly be doubted that we should
have had a very complete knowledge of Roman politics and
history during a most interesting and exciting period.

His history, it is probable, was not all published at one
time. In Book I. chap. 19, he speaks of its having been
the privilege of his age, to have witnessed the closing of the
temple of Janus, after the victory of Actium (B.C. 31). The
first decade may very possibly have been published shortly after

LIVY AND HIS HISTORY. xxi

that date, and then its publication would have coincided with
the time at which Virgil was at work on his great poem. The
temple of Janus was closed twice during the reign of Augustus,
the second occasion being the decisive conquest of the warlike
Cantabri in Spain in B.C. 26. Some time between these two
closings, Livy's first decade may have made its appearance.

Livy had great external advantages as an historian. He had, ' g
as a matter of course, easy access to all the libraries and ^, V
archives and public documents of Rome, as the emperor's Xj -
friend and proteg^. There was an abundance of official records,
fHe annals of the pontiffs, the commentaries or notes of import- -'" ^^^
ant events, also in the keeping of the pontiffs, the registers ^ *^
known or referred to as the " libri lintei " (books written on "4 ^
linen), stored up in the temple of Juno Moneta on the Capitol, /y^ h
a multitude of inscriptions and a vast collection of state-papers, Q

which would include laws, treaties, decrees of the Senate and of ..
the "plebs." These documents, according to Suetonius, went
back almost to the foundation of the city, an exaggeration of
course, but still they must have furnished an immense mass of
materials for a judicious and painstaking historian. But this
_Livy certainly was not, and it is clear that he made but a poor
and slovenly use of much that lay ready to his hand. All this
nas been sufficiently pointed out by Niebuhr and by his
eminent disciple, our own Arnold. Xivy, in fact, it is certain,
had not enough in him of the spirit of research to examine for
himself old musty documents, or even to scrutinise with his own 5
eyes some of the most important inscriptions. He seems never
to have made a study of papers which would have thrown light
on the constitutional history of Rome ; even with the famous
Laws of the Twelve Tables, and with their general scope and
purpose, he was not acquainted. It is much to be wished that "~^
he had had a little more of the " dry as dust " about him. But such "^7"^
matters were not to his taste. The rhetorician, the man of letters ~
comes out in every page. Never was there a more graphic or
charming writer. Yet here again we have to find fault. His descrip-
tions were often deplorably inaccurate from a want of knowledge
which he might have acquired. Of this we cannot take a more
conspicuous instance than his narrative of Hannibal's passage
of the Alps, jle does not seem to have made a study of some

' -V , '^Mk ' a, u^ / ^ ^, , ^ ■>' ' \ ' d- : ^ -■:

xxii LIVY AND HIS HISTORY.

of the best and most learned authors. He never mentions one
of the most erudite works of the time, Varro's Annals ana
Antiquities, which unfortunately has not come down to us, and
he refers only once or twice to Cato's Origines, a book in which
the early history of Italy was discussed by a distinguished
statesman living in the second century B.C. It would appear
that he drew the materials of his early books mainly from the
poet Ennius, and from Fabius Pictor, the first Roman annalist,
a writer of the third century B.C., who had the reputation of
being a very respectable authority on his country's earliest
history. We may, we think, take it for granted that Livy wrote
more with a view to popularity than to clear up obscure and
controverted points. He addresses himself to the general""
public, not to scholars and lawyers and men of learning. Of
the antiquarian and critic one sees at a glance that he has
absolutely nothing. He tells us in his preface what his idea of
history was : its great purpose was to teach moral lessons by
conspicuous examples, and this the history of Rome in its origm,
growth, and decline did, he thought, with remarkable effect. It is
to be noted that he does not speak of his own age as by any
means a highly favoured one, but as a time in which " we can
" neither bear our vices nor the remedies which might heal them."
This certainly is no flattery of Augustus. As to the early history
he plainly says that its traditions are " embellished with poetic
" fables, and that he has no mind to argue for or against them.
" Antiquity may be fairly allowed to give a grandeur and dignity
" to the origin of a state by blending the human and divine."
On the principle here professed the earlier portion of the history
is evidently written. There is no attempt at anything like a
critical sifting, which he probably would have regarded as labour
in vain. But it is foolish to charge him with credulity because
he gave his countrymen the popularly accepted version of the
first beginnings of their city. He continually mentions alleged
prodigies, not of course because he believed them, but because,
as he himself says (Book XLili. chap. 13), when he is speaking of
antiquity, his mind takes an antique cast and character. We
feel at once that these prodigies, though of course they were
fictions, had their significance for the popular sentiment, and the
mention of them gives the reader an insight into certain aspects

LIVY AND HIS HISTORY. xxiii

of Jlome's life, and is therefore curious and interesting. Livy
certainly carries out pretty consistently the general programme
which he has laid down for himself in his preface.

Though he speaks of the corruption of his time, he has the
most intense admiration of the greatness of Rome. " If any
" people have the right, the Roman people may assuredly claim
"a divine origin, and such is their fame in war that all the
" nations of the world may as contentedly acquiesce in their
" boast that they are the children of the god of war as in their
" empire itself" The thought of Rome's surpassing greatness,
of her almost miraculous growth from a very humble beginning,
was ever present to his mind. This it is, coupled with a re-
markably vivid style, which gives to his work the charm and
interest of which we are all conscious. The truth is that his
history is on the whole all the better for having been written
^th a strong patriotic feeling. He may have been unfair to the
gr^at Hannibal, just as many of our own writers found it im-
possible to be fair to Napoleon. Still we believe that even in
such cases, where his mind would naturally have a very decided
bias, the general impression he leaves is not very far wrong.
Hannibal himself, for instance, whose very name was enough to
excite a perfect frenzy of hatred in a Roman breast, stands out
in the pages of Livy as quite the greatest figure of the time.
Here at any rate he has let us see the truth, even while he was
most zealously striving to hold up to his reader s admiration the
glory and greatness of Rome.

Livy, like all men of any ability and worth, had his political v^-^
views and sympathies, and these were strongly marked. Every ^ jj
historian must have his political bias, and it is no slur upon Livy >/ ^
if he had his. We have noted that Augustus used to joke him .^ *s>.
as a " Pompeian," and indeed it is clear enough that Livy's - ' ~>
Jieart was with the old days of the republic, which he liked to n ,
Jhink of as the "good old times." Nor was he altogether
wrong, though we may admit that he took much too favouiable
a view of the past. There was a virtue and a public spirit in
those days, which, after the close of the second Punic war, and
the conquests in the east, sensibly dechned. This had made a
deep impression on Livy, and we find him in his preface deplor- vJ ^
ing the relaxation of discipline and the decay of morals, and "^

xxiv LIVY AND HIS HISTORY.

these evils he probably connected in his mind with the advance
of democratic sentiment. His ideal of a state was a patriotic
and high-principled aristocracy, to which the people could look
up with sincere respect and confidence. The demagogue, and
the stirrer up of what he called sedition, was an abomination to
him. He takes care that we shall see very plainly that, in the
party contests which he describes, he is in heart a patrician, and
that for the people and their demands he felt generally a dislike
and contempt. We may infer this from the speeches which he
puts into the mouths of popular leaders. There is often a low
and vulgar tone about them, and the speakers are usually
credited with selfish and unworthy aims. Very possibly what he
had himself seen and heard of popular turbulence in the latter
days of the republic may have confirmed his patrician bias.
There is one pleasant feature about his work. His pages are
never sullied by any reflections inconsistent with purity and
virtue. The writer, we feel, must have been a good and pure-
minded man, the more so when we consider how corrupt and
depraved was the age in which he lived. But in his works as
they have come down to us there is hardly a passage that need
call a blush to the cheek. He preferred to write history with
a moral view, and he is, so far as we can judge, distinctly true
to his profession. Whatever is good, noble, and unselfish
instinctively commands his sympathy. If occasionally it seems
otherwise, we must remember that he was a Roman, and Rome's
greatness and fame were supremely dear to his heart.

His " Patavinity " (this, as we have seen, was the reproach
flung at him by the learned and critical Pollio) has given rise to
a great variety of conjectures. The people of Patavium, it has
been said, were on Pompey's side, and thus the charge would
resolve itself into one of what, under Augustus, ' would be a
perverse political bias. But this is a far-fetched notion, and we
may assume that what Pollio meant by his criticism was what
we should call " provincialism of style," and an occasional use of
words and phrases that would not quite commend themselves to
the most polished society of Rome. If there was any such defect
in Livy, it is altogether beyond the perception of the best modern
scholars, and it is significant that so accomplished a critic as
Quintilian gives us no hint of it. Pollio's criticism, we may fairly

LIVY AND HIS HISTORY. xxv

suppose, could not have been well founded, and must have been
due to a love of carping, perhaps also to a dislike of Livy, and
a jealousy of his success and popularity.

To sum up. Livy had many admirable qualities as a writer,
a charming and delightful style, which could most skilfully adapt
itself to the particular events he was narrating, a hearty sym-
pathy with goodness and virtue, and, if we may take the word
of Tacitus, a fearless truthfulness where there was a strong
temptation to flattery. He had great faults, faults serious indeed,
when we judge him by our modern standard. He had not the
industry of the antiquarian, or the subtle discernment of the
historical critic. He had no notion of treating history as a
science ; it was with him a storehouse of moral and political
Tessons, which it was an author's duty to convey as agreeably
and impressively as possible to his readers. The story of the
republic was in his eyes a drama full of interest and instruc-
tion, and of the many lost treasures of antiquity it is perhaps
the one which we have most reason to wish we possessed
in its integrity.

ICxVi'

SUMMARY.

BOOK XXI.

B.C. 2l8.

Importance of the Second Punic War — The greatest of all wars
in the author's opinion — Would have commenced at an earlier
date but for the death of Hamilcar — Character of his son
Hannibal (i — 4).

Origin of the war in Hannibal's attack of Saguntum, a city in
Spain, in alliance with Rome — Siege and capture of the city
in disregard of Roman protests (5 — 15).

Rome prepares for war, but at the same time sends an embassy
to Carthage to sound the temper of the Carthaginians — De-
bate in the Carthaginian senate — War proclaimed (16 — 18).

Hannibal's preparations — He crosses the Ebro, passes the
Pyrenees, and arrives, after the passage of the Rhone in face
of opposition from the Gauls, at the foot of the Alps — His
brother, Hasdrubal, he leaves with an army in Spain to guard
Carthaginian interests in that country (19 — 32).

Hannibal's passage of the Alps — The sufferings of his army,
and his great losses — His arrival in Italy (33 — 39).

He defeats the Romans under Publius Scipio on the Ticinus,
and afterwards more decisively on the Trebia (40 — 57).

He fails in an attempt to cross the Apennines — The Carthagi-
nians in Spain are defeated by Cneius Scipio — Flaminius, the
consul, leaves Rome, without the sanction of the Senate, to
take command of the army (58 — 63).

xxviii SUMMARY.

BOOK XXII. ,
B.C. 217.

Hannibal, after a four days' march through the swamps round
the Arno, enters Etruria — Flaminius, disregarding several un-
favourable omens, is drawn into a battle at Lake Trasumennus
and utterly defeated (i — 6).

Fabius Maximus is appointed dictator — The Sibylline Books
are consulted, and solemn religious ordinances are decreed
amid intense public anxiety (7 — 10).

Fabius contents himself with watching Hannibal's movements
as he marches into Samnium and Campania— His master of
the horse, Minucius, excites a feeling against him in the army
by ridiculing these cautious tactics — Fabius is summoned
back to Rome (11 — 18).

The Romans considerably strengthen their position in Spain
under the brothers Cneius and Publius Scipio (19 — 22).

The dictator Fabius is very unpopular at Rome — In his absence
from the army Minucius successfully engages the enemy, and
by a vote of the commons the command is divided between
him and Fabius — His rashness involves him in the utmost
peril, from which he is rescued by Fabius, whom from that
time he willingly acknowledges as his superior (23 — 30).

The Romans still pursue the tactics of Fabius, which greatly
embarrass Hannibal, although they do not meet with the
approval of the commons (31 — 33).

B.C. 216.

Under the new consuls, Terentius Varro and ^milius Paulus,
very large armies are raised, and aid is received from King
Hiero of Sicily (34 — 37).

Varro, before leaving Rome with the anny which is under the
joint command of himself and Paulus, boasts that he will soon
end the war —Paulus is more cautious, and listens to the advice
of Fabius (38 — 40).

The Romans at Cannx — Anxiety of Hannibal to bring on a
general engagement — Skirmishes between the two armies —
Differences between the two commanders, Paulus insisting on

SUMMARY. xxix

caution, Varro being bent on a decisive action, in which at
last he has his way — The Romans are defeated, with the almost
total destruction of their army — Livy compares the disaster to
the defeat by the Gauls at Allia (41 — 50).

Hannibal declines to act on the advice of Maharbal, the com-
mander of his cavalry, who urges him to march at once on
Rome — The horrors of the battle-field — Surrender of the
Romans who had escaped the slaughter (51 — 52).

The prospects of Rome seem so desperate that several young
nobles think seriously of finally abandoning Italy — Scipio,
afterwards known as Africanus, frightens them out of their
designs — Deliberations in the Senate about the defence of
Rome — On the advice of Fabius a restraint is put on public
manifestations of grief — By the direction of the Sacred Books,
contrary to Roman feeling and custom, human sacrifices are
offered — Eight thousand slaves are armed and enlisted — After
a debate in the Senate it is decided that the prisoners taken
by Hannibal are not to be ransomed (53 — 61).

BOOK XXHI.

B.C. 216.

Revolt of the Campanians to Hannibal (i — 10).

The news of the victory of Cannas is brought by Mago to Car-
thage, and confirmed by a great heap of golden rings taken
from slain Roman nobles — After some debate in the Cartha-
ginian senate it is decided to continue the war and to support
Hannibal (11 — 13).

Rome prepares for fresh efforts — Hannibal fails in an attempt
on Naples — Marcellus repulses him from Nola with consider-
able loss (14 — 17).

Hannibal in winter quarters at Capua, where his army becomes
demoralised — He besieges and captures Casilinum after an
obstinate defence (18 — 20).

King Hiero assists the Romans — Debate in the Senate on the
expediency of enrolling a number of new senators to make up
the losses sustained in recent defeats (21 — 23).

Destruction of a Roman army in Gaul — Efforts of the Romans —
Successes of the two Scipios in Spain, which is now brought
mainly under Roman control (24 — 29).

SUMMARY.

B.C. 215.

Distribution of the Roman armies throughout Italy — Treaty
between Hannibal and Philip, King of Macedon — Roman
successes in Sardinia — Victory of the consul Gracchus over
the revolted Campanians — Hannibal makes an attempt on
Nola, but is again repulsed by Marcellus — Patriotic spirit of
the Roman citizens, who willingly advance money for the
necessities of the state — Decisive victory of the Scipios in
Spain (30—49).

BOOK XXIV.

B.C. 215.

Carthaginian operations in Bruttium — Surrender of Locri —
Hieronymus, King of Syracuse, concludes a treaty with
Hannibal, but is soon afterwards assassinated (i — 8).

B.C. 214.

Fabius Maximus and Claudius Marcellus consuls — Gracchus
defeats Hanno and a Carthaginian force at Beneventum —
Hannibal too is worsted in an engagement with Marcellus —
Patriotic spirit of the more wealthy Roman citizens (9 — 18).

The Romans recover Casilinum — Hannibal, after encamping
near Tarentum, retires to Salapia, which he makes his winter
quarters (19 — 20).

Affairs of Sicily — Political factions — A party at Syracuse solicits
alliance with Rome — Marcellus arrives in Sicily, captures
Leontini, and then lays siege to Syracuse — Obstinate defence
of the city under the direction of Archimedes — Several of the
towns of Sicily ally themselves with Carthage (21 — 39).

War with Philip of Macedon — Defeat of the king at ApoUonia
(40).

Operations of the two Scipios in Spain — Recovery of Saguntum
by the Romans (41, 42).

B.C. 213.

Successes of Fabius Maximus — He recovers Arpi in Apulia
(43-48).

SUMMARY. xxxi

Syphax of Numidia becomes Rome's ally — He is utterly de-
feated by Masinissa, the ally of Carthage — In Spain the
Scipios enlist the Celtiberi into their service, and for the first
time in her history Rome employs mercenaries (49).

BOOK XXV.

B.C. 213,

Hannibal at Tarentum — Foreign superstitions find their way
into Rome — The Senate interposes (i, 2).

B.C. 212.

Rome makes unusual efforts, and twenty-three legions take
the field, but the raising of this immense army is attended
with great difficulty (3 — 5).

Surrender of Tarentum to Hannibal, but the citadel holds out
— Hanno defeated in Campania, and forced to retire into
Bruttium (6 — 14).

Revolt of Metapontum and Thurii to Hannibal — Gracchus and
his army are destroyed in Lucania through the treachery of a
Lucanian chief (15 — 17).

Capua besieged by a Roman army — Defeat of Fabius by Han-
nibal in Apulia — Despondency of the Romans (18—22).

Siege of Syracuse by Marcellus — The city is at last stormed
after a two years' defence, and given up to plunder— Archi-
medes perishes in the confusion (23 — 31).

Operations in Spain — The Carthaginians imite their forces —
Cneius Scipio deserted by the Celtiberi — Perilous position of
the two Scipios — The Carthaginians are strengthened by the
arrival of Masinissa with a force of Numidian cavalry —
Publius Scipio is reduced to great straits ; he ventures to
engage the enemy, and is defeated and slain— His brother is
shortly afterwards surrounded by the united forces of the
enemy, and destroyed with his entire army — For nearly eight
years the Scipios had been fighting Rome's battles in Spain —
At this crisis the courage and promptitude of a Roman knight,
Lucius Marcius, arrested the victorious arms of the Cartha-
ginians (32—39).

The spoils of Syracuse are brought to Rome, and almost all
Sicily accepts the Roman alliance, and becomes a Roman
dependency (40, 41).

LIVY.

BOOK XXI.

B.C. 2l8.

I. I CLAIM leave to preface a portion of my history by a
remark which most historians make at the beginning of their
whole work. I am about to describe the most memorable war
ever waged, the war which the Carthaginians, under the
leadership of Hannibal, waged against the people of Rome.
Never have states or nations with mightier resources met in
arms, and never had these two peoples themselves possessed
such strength and endurance. The modes of warfare with
which they encountered one another were not unfamiliar, but had
been tested in the first Punic war. Again, so varying was the
fortune of battle, so doubtful the struggle, that they who finally
conquered were once the nearer to ruin. And they fought,
too, with a hate well nigh greater than their strength. Rome A
was indignant that the conquered should presume to attack the '
conqueror, Carthage that the vanquished had, she thought, been
subjected to an arrogant and rapacious rule. .,'^^^-*^\ "t -; ;

There is a story, too, of Hannibal when, at nine years of
age, he was boyishly coaxing his father Hamilcar to take him
with him to Spain (Hamilcar had just finished the African
war, and was sacrificing before transporting his army to that
country), how the child was set by the altar, and there, with
his hand upon the victim, was made to swear that, so soon as
he could, he would be the enemy of tlre^-Roman people. The
B " B

BOOK XXI.

Great im-
portance of

the Second
Punic War,

I/annual's
childhood, f

t

LIVY.

Death of
Hamilcar,
•who is suc-
ceeded in the
commajid by
Hasdridml.

He is
murdered.

Hannibal
lucceeds Jiim.

loss of Sicily and Sardinia was very galling to the high-spirited
Hamilcar. Sicily, he knew, had been surrendered in premature
despair ; Sardinia had been snatched from them by Roman
fraud, in the midst of their troubles in Africa, while an additional
war indemnity had been imposed on them.

2. Agitated by these thoughts during the five years of the
African war which followed immediately on the recent peace with
Rome and then during the nine years in which he was extending
the Carthaginian empire in Spain, he showed plainly_by his
actions that he was meditating a war greater thanj;hatjn_yvhich
he was engaged. Had he lived longer, the Carthaginians, led
by Hamilcar, would have entered Italy in arms, as they did
afterwards under the leadership of Hannibal.

The singularly opportune death of Hamilcar and the ex-
treme youth of Hannibal delayed the war. During an interval
of eight years between the father and the son, Hasdrubal held
supreme command. In the first bloom of his youth, such is the
story, he became the favourite of Hamilcar, who subsequently
in his later years, seeing his high spirit, chose him to be his
son-in-law. As such, he rose to power, not indeed with the
approval of the principal citizens, but by the influence of the
Barcine faction, which was very great with the army and the
people. Preferring policy to force, he advanced Carthaginian
interests far more by forming connexions with the petty chiefs,
and by winning over new tribes through the friendship of their
leading men, than by war and arms. To him, however, peace
proved quite as dangerous. A barbarian, resenting Hasdrubal' s
execution of his master, murdered him in open day. Seized by
the bystanders, he seemed as cheerful as if he had escaped ;
even when he was torn upon the rack, the expression of his face
was of one who laughed ; so completely did joy triumph over
agony. It was with this Hasdrubal that Rome, seeing his
marvellous tact in dealing with the tribes, and in attaching them
to his government, had renewed the old treaty. The river Ebro
was to be the boundary of their respective empires, while the
Saguntines, who were between the dominions of the two nations,
were to retain their freedom.

3. As to Hasdrubal's successor, there could be no question
that the leader of the soldiers' choice — they had instantly carried

LIVY.

the young Hannibal into the general's tent, and proclaimed him
commander-in-chief amidst loud and universal acclamation —
was followed by the good wishes of the people. When he was
a mere boy, Hasdrubal had written a letter inviting him over to
Spain, and a proposal had been actually made in the Senate, the
Barcine party contending that Hannibal should be trained to
the soldier's life and succeed to his father's high position. To
this, Hanno, the leader of the opposite faction, replied, " Has-
" drubal's demand seems fair, and yet I, for my part, maintain
"that we' ought not to grant what he asks."

Astonishment at a speech so ambiguous having drawn every
eye upon the speaker, Hanno added : " The youthful beauty
" which Hasdrubal himself- surrendered to Hannibal's father,
" he has now good right, he thinks, to claim back from the son.
" But we surely ought not to habituate our young men to the
" wanton lusts of our generals by way of an apprenticeship in
" arms. Or are we afraid that the son of Hamilcar will have
*' to wait too long before he witnesses the unrestrained power,
" the show of monarchy, which his father assumed ; that we
" shall fall too slowly under the domination of the son of the
" man who left, as might a king, our armies as an inheritance
" to his son-in-law ? For my part I think that this young man
" should be kept at home under our laws and magistrates and
" taught to live on the same terms as the rest of us, or else, I
" fear, this little fire will some day blaze forth into a mighty
" conflagration."

"^ 4. Hanno carried the assent of but few, among whom,
however, were all the best men. As so often happens, numbers
prevailed over right. Hannibal was sent to Spain, and instantly
on his arrival attracted the admiration of the whole army.
Young Hamilcar was restored to them, thought the veterans, as
they saw in him the same animated look and penetrating eye,
the same expression, the same features. Soon he made them
feel that his father's memory was but a trifling aid to him in
winning their esteem. Never had man a temper that adapted
itself better to the widely diverse duties of obedience and
command, till it was hard to decide whether he was more
beloved by the general or the army. There was no one whom
Hasdrubal preferred to put in command, whenever courage and

4 LIVY.

BOOK XXT. persistency were specially needed, no officer under whom the
soldiers were more confident and more daring. Bold in the
extreme in incurring peril, he was perfectly cool in its presence.
No toil could weary his body or conquer his spirit. Heat and
cold he bore with equal endurance ; the cravings of nature, not
the pleasure of the palate, determined the measure of his food
and drink. His waking and sleeping hours were not regulated
by day and n'ght. Such time as business left him, he gave to
repose ; but it was not on a soft couch or in stillness that he
sought it. Many a man often saw him wrapped in his military
cloak, lying on the ground amid the sentries and pickets. His
dress was not one whit superior to that of h^s comrades, but his
accoutrements and horses were conspicuously splendid. Among
the cavalry or the infantry he was by far the first soldier ; the
first in battle, the last to leave it when once begun.

These great virtues in the man were equalled by mdnstrous

"CHa koV* <Sy'^'^^^} inhum.an cruelty, a worse than Punic perfidy. Absolulely

^^ -'false and irreligious, he had no fear oXjGad,__nQ.. regard for

cJi^y y'tai oath, no scruples. With this combination of virtues and

vices, he served three years under the command of Hasdrubal,

omitting nothing which a man who was to be a great general

. '"- ' • i ought to do or to see.

^'■Ilts/irst 5. From, the day on which he was proclaimed general, he

operatfons. regarded "Italy as his duly assigned province, and warjwMr
Rome as his special commission. Feeling that there must not
be a moment's delay, or that he too, like his father Hamilcar
and afterwards Hasdrubal, might, if he hesitated, be cut off by
some sudden mischance, he resolved on war with Saguntum.
As it was certain that Rome would be provoked to arms by an
attack on this place, he first led his troops into the territory of
the Olcades, a tribe beyond the Ebro, within Carthaginian
, limits rather than within their actual dominions. He wished to
^seem, if possible, not to have made Saguntum his object, but^"
to have been gradually drawn into war with it, by successive^
events, the subjugation of neighbouring tribes and the annexa-
tion of territory. He stormed and plundered Cartala, a rich
city and the capital of the Olcades. Terror-stricken by this
disaster, the weaker submitted to his rule and to the tribute
imposed on them. The victorious army, laden with booty, was 1

LIVY.

now marched into winter-quarters at New Carthage. There,
by a liberal distribution of the spoil and a faithful discharge of
all arrears of pay, Hannibal won all hearts among both citizens
and soldiers.

Early in the spring, the war was pushed into the country of
the Vaccaei. Their towns, Hermandica and Arbocala, were
stormed. Arbocala owed a long defence to the valour and the
numbers of its inhabitants. The fugitives from Hermandica
joined the exiles from the Olcades, the tribe conquered in the
previous summer, and together roused the Carpetani. Falling
upon Hannibal, on his return from the Vaccasi, near the river
Tagus, they threw his tfoops, encumbered as they were with
spoil, into confusion. Hannibal declined an engagement. He
encamped on the river bank, and, as soon as ever he noticed
that the enemy was quiet and silent, forded the stream. He
extended his lines so far only that the enemy had room to cross,
for 112 resolved to attack them during the passage. He ordered
his cavalry as soon as they entered the water to charge the
encumbered host. On the bank he ranged his forty elephants.
The Carpetani, with the contingent of the Olcades and Vaccasi,
numbered a hundred thousand, an invincible array had the battle
to be fought been in open and level country. Naturally fearless,
they were now confident in their numbers. Fancying that the
enemy's retreat was due to fear, they saw in the river the only
obstacle to victory ; and, raising a shout, dashed recklessly into
the stream, taking every man the nearest way, without waiting
for any orders. From the opposite bank a strong body of
cavalry was launched ; into the stream against them, and the
two met in midchaoifiel in an utterly unequal conflict. The
foot soldier, with insecure footing and but a faint trust in the
ford, might well be beaten down even by a weaponless rider
who spurred hig horse fiercely at him, while the trooper, free to
use limbs and weapons, his steed standing firm even amid the
rush of the water, could fight at close quarters or skirmish as
he pleased. Numbers were swept away by the stream ; some
were carried by the eddying current among the enemy, and
trampled down by the elephants. Those in the rear who could
return in comparative safety to their own bank, began to re-
assemble from all parts to which they had fled ; but before they

LIVY.

could recover from so great a shock, Hannibal had plunged
into the river with a column in fighting order, and driven them
in flight from the shore. He laid waste their country, and
within a few days the Carpetani too had surrendered. And
now all beyond the Ebro except Saguntum was in Carthaginian
hands.

6. War with Saguntum was not indeed yet declared ; but
already, with a view to war, quarrels were being started between
it and its neighbours, more particularly the Turdetani. When
the very man who was the sower of strife took up the cause of
the tribe, and it was evident that he was not bent on arbitra-
tion, but on hostilities, the Saguntines despatched_envoys to
Rome, begging help for a war now assuredly imniineiiLL. The
consuls at Rome were then Publius Cornelius Scipio and
Tiberius Sempronius Longus. They introduced the embassy
to the Senate, and brought before it the question of public policy,
the result being a decision to send envoys to Spain to look into
the position of their allies. Should these envoys think that
there was adequate cause, they were peremptorily to bid
Hannibal not to meddle with the Saguntines, as being allies of
Rome, then to cross over into Africa to Carthage and there
report the complaints of Rome's allies. .,

The mission had been resolved upon, but not despatched,
when news came sooner than any one could have expected that
Saguntum was besieged. At once the matter was again brought
before the Senate. Some were for assigning Spain and Africa
to the consuls as their provinces, and for making war by sea and
land. " Others were for bending all their efforts against Spain
and Hannibal. Some maintained that they must not move
rashly in so serious a crisis, but should await the return of their
envoys from Spain. This seemed the safest counsel, and it
prevailed. Accordingly the envoys, Publius Valerius Flaccus,
and Quintus Basblus Tamphilus, were despatched, without
further delay to Hannibal at Saguntum ; thence they were to
go to Carthage to demand, unless there was a cessation of
hostilities, the surrender of the offending general as a penalty
for the violation of the treaty.

/"]. While the Romans were thus preparing and deliberating,
Saguntum was already being attacked with the utmost vigour.

LIVY.

It was far the richest city beyond the Ebro, and stood about a
mile from the sea. Its inhabitants came originally, it is said,
from the island Zacynthus, and mingled with them was an
element of Rutulian origin from Ardea. Anyhow, it is certain
that they had rapidly risen to their great prosperity by profits
that came both from sea and land, by the growth of population,
and by that training in a scrupulous honour which made them
respect their loyalty as allies even to their own destruction.
Hannibal entered their territory with an army* prepared for war,
and after ravaging their lands far and wide, attacked their city
in three divisions.

One angle of their wall looked towards a valley more level
and more open than the neighbouring country, and against this
he decided to advance his engines, and under their shelter to
apply the battering-ram to the ramparts. But although the
ground at some distance from the wall was convenient enough
for advancing the engines, yet when they came to attack the
wall in earnest, the attempt was anything but successful. There
was a huge overhanging tower ; the wall, too (for the place was
known to be weak), was raised above its height in other parts.
Then again, as the point was one of conspicuous peril and
danger, a picked body of young men opposed there a particu-
larly vigorous resistance. First, they kept off the enemy with
missiles and left him no sort of safety, while he was making his
advances ; next, no longer merely discharging their volleys from
the fortifications and the tower, they took courage to rush out
upon his outposts and works. In these skirmishes hardly more
Saguntines fell than Carthaginians. Hannibal himself, approach-
ing the wall somewhat incautiously, was struck down by a
severe wound on his thigh from a javelin, and forthwith there
was such consternation and panic everywhere around that the
works and engines were all but abandoned.

8. During the next few days, while the general's wound was
being treated, there was more of blockade than of active attack.
But, though during this interval there was a lull in the fighting,
there was no rest from the preparation of works and from
engineering labour. And so the contest was renewed with
greater fury ; approaches began to be made, and the battering-
rams applied at a number of points, though some places

8 LIVY.

;OOK xxr. hardly admitted of their being worked. The Carthaginians had
asuperabundanceof men, having, it is generally believed, a hun-
dred and fifty thousand under arms, while the townspeople had
now to dissipate their strength over a wide space in order to guard
and watch each point. Their numbers, therefore, were insufficient.
The walls, too, which were now being hammered by the battering-
rams, had in many places been shattered. At one point a con-
tinuous breach had left the city defenceless ; tliree towers in
succession and the wall between them had fallen with a great
crash. The town, so thought the Carthaginians, was as good
as taken after such a downfall. Then, just as if the wall had
before screened both combatants alike, besiegers and besieged
rushed to battle. This was nothing like one of those irregular
fights which commonly occur at assaults on towns, where one
side seizes his opportunity ; regular lines, drawn up as though in
an open plain, took their stand between the ruins of the wall
and the houses, which stood not far off. Hope fired one side,
despair the other. The Carthaginians thought that, with a very
slight effort, they were masters of the place, while the SagunT"
tines barred the way with their bodies to save homes now stript
of their defences, and not a man yielded a foot lest he should
let in the enemy to the ground surrendered.

The fiercer the fight, the denser the crowd on either side,
the more numerous were the wounded, for not a dart fell without
effect amid such a mass of combatants. The Saguntines used
the so-called *' falarica," a missile with a pinewood shaft, smooth
except at the extremity, from which an iron point projected.
This, which, as in the " pilum," was of a square form, was bound
round with tow and smeared with pitch. The iron point of
the weapon was three feet long, such as could pierce straight
through the body as well as the armour, and even if it stuck in
the shield without penetrating the body, it caused intense panic ;
discharged as it was with one half of it on fire, and carrying
with it a flame fanned by the very motion into greater fury, it
made the men throw off their armour, and exposed the soldier
to the stroke which followed.

9. After a long undecided struggle, the Saguntines, taking
heart because they were holding their ground beyond their"
hopes, the Carthaginians thinking themselves vanquished

LIVY. 9

because they were not victorious, suddenly the townspeople book xxi.
raised a shout, drove the enemy to the ruias of the wall, and <y /

thrusting him out thence, entangled and bewildered, finally beat \)
him back in disorderly flight to his camp. Meanwhile came \

news of the arrival of the envoys from Rome. Hannibal sent Hannibal

. . . r. •fuses to

men to the sea to meet them with the message that it would not treat with
be safe for them to come to him through such a vast host , envoys. /
of wild tribes, and that it was not worth his while at %\xc^^Jf::'^'S. c'fii'^
a crisis_ fo be receiving embassies. It was evident that, if ^'-^'R-
not admitted, they would go straight to Carthage. So Hannibal ,-^'^'q-i:
sent off before them some messengers with a letter to the chiefs .'
of the Barcine faction, bidding them prepare the minds of their <0
' partisans, that the other party might not have the chance of
making any concession to Roman demands.

ID. Thus, save that they were received and heard, the Their
mission of ths envoys was fruitless and abortive. Hanno alone Carthage.
pleaded for the treaty before the Senate, amid a profound silence
due to his personal influence, but not with the approval of his
audience. " I charged, I forewarned you " (said he, appealing Hanno' s
to the gods who were the arbiters and witnesses of treaties),

-i

y.

" not to let Hamilcar's son go to the army. The departed spirit^

" the race of that man, know no rest. ^slongL as there is

"a surviyqr of, Barcine blood and name, the treaty with Rome

"will never be left in peace. You have sent to the army, by

" way of adding fuel to the flame, a youth burning with the lust

" of empire, and seeing but one way to its attainment, to start

" war after war, and to live encompassed with arms and armies.

" Thus you have fed this fire which is now blazing around you.

"_Your armies are besieging Saguntum, which a treaty forbids . , ,

" tbem to touch ; before long, Rome's legions will be besieging// V'" i-

" Carthage, led by those same gods through whom in the last^ • vvk'^^i^

" war Rome avenged her broken treaties. Is it of the enemy, or0;, ^^ • /

" of yourselves, or of the fortunes of either people that you are so ^T' , i i

" utterly ignorant ? Envoys who come from allies on behalf of '^'^<- , h

" allies, your good general has not^dtpitted to his camp ; he has

" made light of international lavv>;Ye); these men after being re-

" pulsed where even an enemy's envoys are not refused admission,

" come to you, claiming satisfaction as the treaty directs. To free

" the State from wrong- doing, _they demand the author of the

5.

U 1/1, '" "i^'^'i /-^Ac/

LIVY.

" offence, the man chargeable with the crime. The more gently
" they deal, the slower they are to begin, the more persistent, I
" fear, when they have once begun, will be their wrath. Keep
" before your eyes the Aegates islands and mount Eryx, and what
" for twenty-four years you suffered by land and sea. And it was
" not this boy who was then in command, but the boy's father,
" Hamilcar, a second Mars, as his party will have it. But we
'^ad not kept our hands off Tarentum, that is, off Italy, as the^
"treaty enjoined, just as now we are not keeping our hands,
"off Saguntum. And so gods and men prevailed, andTTn"
" the question so long debated, which of the two nations
" had broken the treaty, the issue of the war, like an im-
" partial arbiter, yielded the triumph to the side on which
" right stood. It is against Carthage that Hannibal is bringing
" up his engines and his towers ; it is the walls of Carthage that
" he is shaking with his battering-ram. The ruins of Sagun-
"tum (I hope I may be a false prophet) will fall on our heads,
" and the war begun with the Saguntines must be carried on
" with the Romans.

" Shall we, then, give up Hannibal? some one will say. I

*' know that my word goes for little in the matter, because of

"my feud with his father. Still, as I. rejoiced at Hamilcar's

" death, because we should have had war with Rome had he

" lived, so, as for this youth, the very fury, I may call him, and

" firebrand of this conflict, I hate and detest him. Not only

" do I think that we should give him up to atone for the broken

" treaty, but that, even if no one demanded, we should transport

" him to the remotest regions of earth and sea, and banish him

" to where neither his name nor fame could reach us and trouble

^ ' ^ " the welfare of a peace-loving community. My opinion is that

'^ we ought at once to send envoys to Rome with an apology to

the Senate, and others to bid Hannibal withdraw his army from

'°^" Saguntum, and to deliver up the man himself to the Romans,

" as the treaty directs. And I propose that there be a third

" embassy to make restitution to the Saguntines."

Decision of ^^- When Hanno had done speaking, not a single man felt

tlie Car- \\_ nccessary to answer his speech. Almost the whole Senate was

Senate. devotcd to Hannibal ; Hanno, they declared, had spoken more

bitterly than Flaccus Valerius, the Roman ambassador. Answer

T :■

LIVY. II

was then returned to the envoys from Rome. " The war," it was book xxi.
said, "was begun by the Saguntines,not by Hannibal ; the Roman^5<!***««^
" people do. wrong if they prefer the Saguntines to their very c^ .:>.r' >? ii-^'^Ar
" ancient alliance with Carthage." i>;/y/^^^Sr

While the Romans were wasting- time in sendinjj embassies, thesiegeof
Hannibal, hndmg his soldiers wearied with fighting and siege- is vigorously
works, gave them a few days' rest, posting pickets, however, t0 2\; (^'^^^ '
guard his engines and other works. Meanwhile he kindled their » - ' ' ' ■ •
ardour, now firing them with wrath against the foe, now by the '

hope of reward. As soon as he had publicly proclaimed that the (

spoil of the captured city should belong to the soldiers, they were
all so excited that, had the signal been that instant given, no
strength, it seemed, could have resisted them. The Saguntines,
though they had had rest from fighting, and had neither attacked
nor been attacked for some days, worked night and day without
cessation to build up a new wall on the spot where the fall of the
old had laid their town bare. Then they had to face a far fiercer
assault than ever, nor could they well judge, with loud discordant
cries all about them, where the promptest or the most powerful
aid was needed. Hannibal was present in person encouraging
his men where they were advancing a movable tower, which
exceeded in height any part of the fortifications. As soon as it
had been brought up and, by means of the catapults and ballistas
ranged on its several stories, had swept the defenders from the
ramparts, he thought that the opportunity was come, and sent
about five hundred Africans with pickaxes to undermine the wall.
This was no difficult work, for the rubble had not been compacted
with mortar, but joined only with layers of mud in the fashion
of ancient buildings. And so there fell a greater extent of wall
than actually received the blows, and through the gaps made
by the foil bodies of armed men penetrated into the city. They
also seized some high ground, dragged up catapults and ballistas,
and inclosed the position with a wall, so as to have in the
vcr>' heart of the town a fort, dominating it, like a citadel. The
Saguntines, on their part, drew an inner wall from the part of
the city not yet captured. Both sides toiled and fought with
all their might, but in defending the interior of the town the
Saguntines every day reduced its dimensions. The scarcity of
all necessaries increased from the length of the siege, while the

LIVY.

Attempts to
negotiate
a peace.

prospect of external aid diminished, as the Romans, their only
hope, were so far distant, and the whole country round M-as in the
enemy's hands. Still for a brief space their sinking spirits were
revived by Hannibal's sudden departure on an expedition against
the Oretani and Carpetani. These two tribes, dismayed at the
rigour of the conscription, had detained the recruiting-officers
and caused some apprehensions of revolt, but they were over-
povvered by Hannibal's rapidity, and dismissed all thoughts of
war.

12. There was no slackening in the siege of Saguntum, as
Maharbal, Himilco's son, whom Hannibal had left in command,
pressed the attack so vigorously that the general's absence was
felt neither by the Saguntines nor by their foe. Maharbal not only
fought some successful engagements but shook down a good part
of the walls with three battering-rams, and showed Hannibal on
his return the gap all strewn with fresh ruins. Hannibal at once
marched his army straight to the citadel ; there was a fierce battle
with great slaughter on both sides, and part of the citadel was
taken.

There was now a feeble hope of peace, and two men, Alcon,
of Saguntum, and Alorcus, a Spaniard, tried to realise it. Alcon,
thinking to gain something by entreaties, went over to Hannibal
by night without the knowledge of the Saguntines ; but as tears
had no effect, and the hard terms which might be expected from
^an enraged conqueror were offered, he sank the envoy in tire
deserter, and remained with the enemy, asserting that it would
be death to any one to propose peace on such conditions.
Hannibal's demands, indeed, were these: — they must make
restitution to the Turdetani, surrender all their silver and gold,
depart from the city with one garment apiece, and settle where-
ever the Carthaginians might bid them. When Alcon protestec
that the Saguntines would not accept such terms of peace
Alorcus declared that courage yields when all else yields, am
he offered to be the negotiator of a peace. He was then one o
Hannibal's soldiers, but he was the recognised guest and frienc
of the Saguntine community. In the sight of all he gave u];
his weapon to the enemy's sentries, then crossed the lines, an(
was conducted at his own request to the Saguntine officei.
Instantly there was a rush to the spot of citizens of every class ,

LIVY. 13

When the crowd had been pushed aside, Alorcus had an audience
before the Senate, and made the following speech: —

13. "Had your fellow-citizen Alcon brought back to you
" from Hannibal terms of peace, as he went to sue for them,
" this journey of mine would have been needless, for I have come
"to you neither as Hannibal's spokesman nor as a deserter.
" But as Alcon— be the fault his or yours — has chosen to stay
"with the enemy (his own it is, if he feigned alarm ; yours, if it
" is dangerous to bring back to you a true report), I have now
"come to you in consideration of the old tie of friendship
" between us, to let you know that there are certain terms of
" peace and safety for you. That I am saying what I do say to
" you for your own sakes and no one else's, this in itself should
" be sufficient proof that I never mentioned peace to you as long
" as either your own strength held out or you hoped for aid from
" Rome. Now that you have no hope from the Romans, and that
"your arms and walls no longer give you an adequate defence,
" I bring you a peace which is inevitable rather than favourable.
" Of this there is some hope on this condition, that to the terms
" which Hannibal offers as a conqueror, you listen as the con-
" quered, and are prepared to recognise, no loss indeed in what
"you part with, seeing all is in the victor's hand, but a bounty
" in whatever is left you. Your city, to a great extent destroyed,
"and almost wholly in his grasp, he takes from you; your lands
"he leaves you, and intends to assign you a place where you can
" build a new town ; all your gold and silver, whether the property
" of the State or, of private citizens, he will have brought to him;
" your own persons and the persons of your wives and children
" he preserves inviolate, if you are willing to quit Saguntum
" without arms, with two garments apiece. Such are the terms
" insisted on by the victorious enemy ; grievous and hard, as they
"are, your plight recommends them to you. For my part I do not
" despair of some mitigation of them, when Hannibal has once
"got everything into his power. Yet I maintain that it is better

' that you should endure even such terms, than be massacred
" and suffer your wives and children to be seized and dragged
" into slavery before your eyes under the right of conquest."

14. In the throng that gradually crowded round to hear this
speech, the popular assembly had mingled with the Senate, when

14

LIVY.

Capture of
Sagunium.

Rinilni.

all in a moment and before an answer had been given the chief
citizens withdrew. All the gold and silver belonging to the State
or to private persons they collected and flung into a fire hastily
lighted for the purpose, and many of them then threw them-
selves into the flames. Amidst the panic and consternation that
this spread through the whole city, a further alarm was heard from
the citadel. A tower which had long been tottering had fallen ;
a body of Carthaginians had rushed through the breach, and
signalled to their general that the enemy's town was bare of its
usual guards and sentries. Resolved promptly to seize such an
opportunity, Hannibal attacked in full force and took the city in
a moment. He had given orders for the massacre jDf^ all the
adult males. Cruel as the order was, it was seen by the issueto
Have been almost ~ar necessity. Who, in fact, could have been
spared out of a population who either shut themselves in with
their wives and children, and burnt the houses over their heads,
or, with swoi-ds in their hands, ceased only to fight when they
lay dying ?

15. The town was taken with an immense booty. Though
much of the property had been purposelydestroyed by the ownei-s,
though in the massacre scarce any distinction of age was recog-
nised by the enemy's fury, and the captives were the soldiers'
spoil, still it is certain that what was sold produced a consider-
able sum, and that much rich furniture and apparel were sent to
Carthage.

Some writers say that Saguntum was captured eight months
after the commencement of the siege, that Hannibal then retired
into winter-quarters at New Carthage, and arrived in Italy five
months after his departure from that town. If so, it cannot be
that Publius Cornelius and Tiberius Sempronius were the consuls
to whom the Saguntine envoys were sent at the beginning of the
siege, and who were still in office when they fought the battles
of the Ticinus and the Trebia with Hannibal, one of them
being present at the former, both at the latter. All this either
occupied a somewhat shorter time, or Saguntum was taken,
instead of its siege having been begun, early in the year in which
Cornelius and Sempronius were consuls. For the battle of the
Trebia cannot have fallen so late as the year of Servilius or
Flaminius, as Flaminius entered on his consulate at Ariminum *

LIVY. 15

on the declaration of the consul Sempronius, and Sempronius, book xxi
who went to Rome after the battle of the Trebia to nominate
the consuls, returned to his army in winter-quarters as soon as
the election was over.

16. It was at almost one and the same moment that the Excitev:ent

, r r^ 1 1 • at home.

envoys who had returned from Carthage reported that everythmg

tended to war, and that the fall of Saguntum was announced.

Grief the most intense, pity for the unmerited destruction of

their allies, shame at having rendered them no aid, wrath against ^ .

the Carthaginians, and alarm for the actual safety of the State, ' ^^^*'^^jQ^

as though the enemy were already at their gates, so mastered the ' ' j^<-

Senate, and so distracted them with the variety of simultaneous ". .■ : • K--.'

emotions, that there was more confusion than counsel among

them. A fiercer and more warlike foe they had never had to f^*^ k,

encounter, nor had Rome ever been so slothful and unwarlike. ■ , ^ \

The Sardi, the Corsi, the Histri, the lUyrii, had annoyed rather '

than practised the arms of Rome, and with the Gauls there had

been skirmishing more than regular war. The Carthaginian,

their old enemy, uniformly victorious through three-and-twenty

years of the severest fighting amongst the nations of Spain, and'>tr6c.vi<^,^^

trained under a most determined leader, was now crossing theli^^^L

Ebro, fresh from the destruction of one of the richest of cities ; ^^^.fjJ^

with him he was hurrying onward the levies of many Spanish k>>.^,,

tribes ; the nations of Gaul, ever eager for arms, would rise^

at his bidding ; a war with the whole world would have to be

fought in Italy, and before the walls of Rome.

17. The provinces to be assigned to the consuls had been Preparations
already named ; they were now bidden to draw lots for them. for war.
Spain fell to Cornelius ; Africa with Sicily to Sempronius. Six

legions were voted for the year, with such a force of allies as the
consuls might think fit, and as large a fleet as could possibly be
equipped ; of Romans there were enrolled twenty-four thousand ^ , "zOo
.infantry, eighteen hundred cavalry ; of the allies forty thousand U 0
infantry, four thousand and four hundred cavalry, while two
hundred and twenty five-banked ships and twenty light galleys
were launched.

The question was then put to the Commons — Was it their
will and pleasure that war should be declared against the people
of Carthage ? For the war thus sanctioned, public prayers were

i6

J.IVY,

offered throughout Rome, ana entreaty made to the gods that
what the people of Rome had decided might have a good and
prosperous issue. The forces were then divided between the
consuls. To Sempronius were assigned two legions (these were
each four thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry), and
sixteen thousand of the allied infantry, with eighteen hundred
cavalry, one hundred and sixty great war-ships, and twelve light
galleys. Sempronius was despatched with these land and sea
forces to Sicily, whence he was to cross into Africa, if the other
consul proved sufficient to keep the Carthaginians out of Italy.
Cornelius had a smaller army, as Lucius Manlius, the praetor,
was himself sent to Gaul with a fairly strong force. It was in his
fleet that he was weakest ; he had but sixty five-banked ships,
for it was not believed that the enemy would invade by sea or
attempt that kind of warfare. He had also two Roman legions
with their proper complement of cavalry, fourteen thousand
allied infantry, and sixteen hundred cavalry. The province of
Gaul contained two Roman legions, ten thousand allied infantry,
a thousand allied and six hundred Roman cavalry, now destined
for the same object — the Carthaginian war.

1 8. Having completed these preparations the Romans,
anxious to insure the due performance of all the proper pre-
liminaries to war, sent as envoys to Africa Quintus Fabius,
Marcus Livius, Lucius Aemilius, Caius Licinius, Ouintus Baebius,
all men of venerable age, who were to question the Carthaginians
whether Hannibal had attacked Saguntum by order of the State.
Should they, as seemed likely, admit and justify the act as done
by order of the State, war was to be declared against the
Carthaginians.

As soon as the Roman envoys arrived and audience was
given them in the Senate, Quintus Fabius asked nothing more
than the single question with which he had been intrusted.
Thereupon one of the Carthaginians replied : "Your previous
" embass3% men of Rome, was peremptory enough, when you
" demanded Hannibal on the assumption that he was attacking
" Saguntum on his own responsibility ; but this embassy, though
" so far its language is milder, is in reality harder on us. On that
" occasion it was Hannibal whom you denounced, whose sur-
'* render you demanded ; now, you want to extort from us a

LIVY. 17

"confession of wrong-doing, and to claim instant satisfaction BOOK XXI.

" on the strength of such confession. I should say that the

" question ought not to be whether Saguntum was attacked

"on the responsibility of the State, or of a private citizen, but

"^as the attack just or unjust ? It is surely for us to inquire and

*' decide about our own citizen^ as to wKat he may have done on our

" instance or his own ; with you we have only to discuss whether

" tiSe act was permissible by the treaty. Well, as you wish us

** to distinguish between what generals do on the State's respon-

" sibihty and what on their own, we have a treaty with ycu

" which was concluded by your consul, Caius Lutatius, and in

" this, though it guarded the interests of the allies of both

" parties, there was no such provision for the Saguntines, who, in

" fact, were not yet your allies. But you will say, the Saguntines ' "*,. ^ r.

" are exempted from attack by the treaty which you concluded

" with Hasdrubal. Against this I am going to say nothing but

" what I have learnt from you. You said yourselves that you

" were not bound by the treaty which Caius Lutatius, your consul,

" first made with us, because it was made without the sanction

"of the Senate and the assent of the Commons, and accord-

" ingly another treaty was concluded with the sanction of the

"^State. If you are not bound by your own treaties unless they

"are made with your full sanction and assent, assuredly we '4

" cannot accept the obligation of Hasdrubal's treaty, which he

" made without our knowledge. So cease to talk of Saguntum

" and tlie Ebro, and let your hearts at last give birth to the

" project of which they have long been in labour."

Upon this the Roman gathered his robe into a fold, and said :
" Here we bring you peace and war ; take which you please."
Instantly on the word rose a shout as fierce : " Give us which
" you please." The Roman, in reply, shook out the fold, and spoke
again : " I give you war." The answer from all was ; " We accept declared
" it, and in the spirit with which we accept it, will we wage it,"

19. This straightforward question and declaration of war
seemed to suit the dignity of the Roman people better than a
debate about treaty obligations. So it seemed before, and more
than ever now that Saguntum was destroyed. Had it indeed
been a matter to debate, how could Hasdrubal's treaty be pro-
perly compared with the earlier treaty of Lutatius, the one which

c

/C

i8

LIVY.

was chahged ? For in that treaty there was an express clause
that it was to be binding only on condition of being voted by
the Commons, while in Hasdrubal's treaty there was no such
exception, and the silence of so many years during his life-
time had so thoroughly ratified it that even after its author's
death it was not altered in the least. Still, if they were to stand
by the first treaty, the Saguntines were quite enough protected,
as the allies of both nations were exempted from attack. Nor
was there a word to the effect, " those who were then allies," or
" Qcft such as may be taken into alliance hereafter." And as it
was permitted to make new allies, who could think it fair that
they should admit no one into their friendship, whatever his
services, or that having received people under their protection
they should not defend them, always provided that the allies of
the Carthaginians were not either to be excited to revolt, or
received as allies should they revolt of themselves ?

The Roman envoys, following the instructions given them at
Rome, crossed from Carthage into Spain with the view of visiting
the Spanish states and drawing them into alliance, or at least
alienating them from the Carthaginians. First they came to the
Bargusii, who, being weary of Carthaginian rule, received them
favourably, and thus they roused a craving for a change of con-
dition among several tribes beyond the Ebro, Then they went
to the Volciani, whose answer, becoming famous throughout
Spain, set the other tribes against the Roman alliance. Their
oldest man gave the following reply in their Council ; " Where,
" Romans, is your sense of shame that you ask us to prefer your
" friendship to that of the Carthaginians, when those who have
" done so have been betrayed more cruelly by you, their allies,
''than they have been destroyed by the Carthaginian foe ? Seek
" you allies, so I say, where men have never heard of the de-
" struction of Saguntum, as the ruins of that city are a warning,
" as conspicuous as it is grievous, to the tribes of Spain not to
" trust in any case to Roman faith and alliance." They were
told instantly to quit the territory of the Volciani, and from not
a single assembly in Spain did they subsequently get a more
favourable answer.

20. Having thus travelled through Spain with no result, they
passed into Gaul. Here they witnessed a strange and alarming

LIVY.

19

sight. The people came armed to the assembly — their national book xxi.
custom. When the envoys extolled the glory and valour of the y,^^ ^ .^^^^
Roman people, and the greatness of their empire, and demanded Gatd, ha get no
that they should not grant the Carthaginian in his invasion of except
Italy a passage through their country and its towns, there was "' Massiiia.
such a burst, it is said, of hooting and laughter, that the magis-
trates and the elders could hardly quiet the younger men ; so
senseless and impudent a request it seemed, to propose that the
Gauls, rather than let the war pass into Italy, should draw it
upon themselves, and offer their own lands to the spoiler to save
those of others. At last the uproar was hushed, and this answer
was given to the envoys : " That the Romans had done them no
"service, the Carthaginians no injury, in return for which they
" need either take up arms for Rome or against Carthage. On
" the other hand, they heard that men of their own race were
" being driven from the lands and borders of Italy by the
" Roman people, and were paying tribute and suffering other
"indignities."

Much the same was said and heard in all the other assemblies Marseilles.
throughout Gaul, and not a friendly or even tolerably peacefiU
answer was received until they came to Massilia^ There they
got all the information which their allies had carefully and faith-
fully acquired for them ; that already Hannibal had gained a
hold on the minds of the Gauls, but that even he would not find
the nation sufficiently tractable (so fierce and untamable was
its temper) unless he further won the affections of the chiefs with
gold, of which the Gaul is intensely greedy. So the envoys,
after visiting the tribes of Spain and Gaul, returned to Rome soon
after the departure of the Consuls to their provinces. They
found the whole city excited by its anticipation of war, all
accounts agreeing that the Carthaginians had crossed the Ebro.

21. After the taking of Saguntum Hannibal had withdrawn
into winter-quarters at New Carthage. Hearing there what had
been done and decided on at Rome and at Carthage, and that
he was himself the cause of the war as well as its leader, he
divided and distributed the remainder of the booty in the con-
viction that there must be no further delay. He then called
together his soldiers of Spanish blood.

" I think," said he, " that you, my allies, can see for yourselves

C 2

LIVY.

Hannibal
lets his
Spanish

soldiers go
home 071

furlough.

" that, now that we have reduced all the tribes of Spain, we must
"end our campaigns and disband our army, or else carry the
" war into other countries. For only by our seeking spoil and
" glory from other nations will these tribes enjoy the fruits of
" victory as well as of peace. And so, as you are about to engage
" in a war far away from your homes, and it is uncertain when you
" will again see those homes and all that is there dear to you, I
" grant leave of absence to any one who wishes to visit his kin-
" dred. I bid you be present in early spring, that with the gods'
*• good help we may begin what will be a war of prodigious
'' glory and recompense."

All or nearly all welcomed the spontaneous offer of an oppor-
tunity to visit their homes ; even then they had a longing to see
their kindred, and they foresaw a longing more protracted in
time to come. Rest during the entire winter between toils that
already had been or were soon to be endured, renewed both
body and mind with strength to encounter afresh every hardship.
Early in spring they assembled according to orders. After re-
viewing each tribe's contingent, Hannibal went to Gades, where
he paid a vow to Hercules, and bound himself by fresh vows
should his other schemes prosper. Then dividing his attention
between a war of attack and a war of defence, he resolved on
securing Sicily by a strong force, so that Africa might not be
open and exposed to the Romans on that side, while he was
himself advancing on Italy overland through Spain and Gaul.
To take the place of these troops Hannibal demanded for himself
reinforcements from Africa, chiefly of light-armed spearmen, so
that Africans might serve in Spain and Spaniards in Africa, each
set of soldiers being likely to fight better away from home, as
under the influence, so to speak, of mutual obligations. To
Africa he sent off thirteen thousand eight hundred and fifty
infantry with light leathern shields, eight hundred and seventy
Balearic slingers, and twelve hundred cavalry, made up from a
number of tribes. These forces were by his order partly to
garrison Carthage, partly to be dispersed throughout Africa.
He likewise sent recruiting officers jnto the states, and having
raised a levy of four thousand picked youth, directed that they
should be marched to Carthage, to serve both as garrison troops
and as hostages.

LIVY.

22, Spain, too, Hannibal felt, must not be forgotten, the less
so indeed as he was well aware that the Roman envoys had
travelled through the country to sound the temper of the chiefs. So
he assigned the province to his brother Hasdrubal, a thoroughly
energetic man, and secured it with troops, mainly African, that
is, with eleven thousand eight hundred and fifty infantry of African
race, three hundred Ligurians, and five hundred Baliarians. To
this auxiliary infantry were added four hundred and fifty Liby-
phoenician cavalry, a race this of mingled Carthaginian and
African blood, with Nuinidians and Moors, dwellers on the
shores of the ocean, to the number of eight hundred, and a
small body of Ilergetes from Spain, consisting of tWe hundred
cavalry, and, that no description of land force might be wanting,
twenty-one elephants. Hasdrubal had also a fleet given him to
defend the coast, fifty five-banked, two four-banked, and five
three-banked ships, for it might well be believed that now again
the Romans would wage war on the element on which they
had already been successful. But of these only thirty-two five-
banked, with the five three-banked ships were furnishisd and
equipped with crews.

From Gades Hannibal returned to the winter-quarters of his
army at New Carthage. Thence he led his men by the coast
past the town of Onusa to the Ebro. There he saw in a dream,
so the story goes, a youth of godlike shape, who said that he had
been sent by Jupiter to conduct the army of Hannibal into Italy ;
that he was therefore to follow and nowhere turn his eyes away
from him. At first Hannibal followed trembling, neither looking
around nor behind ; after a while, with the natural curiosity of
the human mind, as he thought what it could be on which he
was forbidden to look back, he could not restrain his eyes ; he
then saw behind him a serpent of marvellous size moving onwards
with a fearful destruction of trees and bushes ; close after
this followed a storm-cloud with crashing thunder. When he
1<ed what was the monster and what the portent meant, he
iS told it was '' the devastation of Italy ; let him go straight
on and ask no more questions, and leave the fates in
■" darlmess."

23. Cheered by the vision, he crossed the Ebro with his
army in three divisions, after having first despatched messengers

LIVY.

He crosses the

Ebro, leaving'

Hanno to guard

the passes

between Sfiain

and Gatil.

Crosses the
Pyrenees.

E!ne.

with gifts to gain the goodwill of the Gauls in the regions which
his army had to cross, and to reconnoitre the passes of the Alps.
It was with ninety thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry
that he crossed the Ebro. Then he reduced the Ilergetes, the
Bargusii, and the Ausetani, and also Lacetania, a district at the
foot of the Pyrenees. All this country he put in charge of Hanno,
who was to have the control of the passes connecting Spain and
Gaul. Hanno had ten thousand infantry and a thousand cavalry
given him to garrison the district which he was to hold. At this
point, as soon as the army began its march through the defiles of
the Pyrenees, and more distinct rumours of war with Rome had
spread through the barbarian host, three thousand infantry of the
Carpetani left him. It was understood that what alarmed them
was not so much the war as the long march and the hopeless-
ness of the passage of the Alps. As to recall or detain them by
force would have been a dangerous experiment, likely to exaspe-
rate the wild tempers of his other allies, Hannibal sent back to
their homes more than seven thousand men, whom he had also
perceived to be weary of the service, and he pretended that even
the Carpetani had been dismissed by.his own act.

24. Then, that his men might not feel the temptation of
delay or inaction, he crossed the Pyrenees and encamped at the
town of Iliberri.* Though the Gauls understood that the war
was directed against Italy, yet, as it was rumoured that the
Spaniards beyond the Pyrenees had been reduced by force and
strong garrisons set over them, some of the tribes were roused to
arms by the dread of enslavement, and assembled at Ruscino.
Hannibal on being told of this, as he feared delay more than
defeat, sent envoys to their chiefs, to say that he wished to have
a personal interview with them ; they might either come nearer
to Jliberri, or he would himself go to Ruscino ; thus brought
nearer together they could meet more easily. " I will gladly,"
he added, "receive you in my camp, or I will go myself to
" you without hesitation, for I have come as a friend, not an
"■ enemy to the Gauls, and will not draw sword, unless the Gauls
" compel me, till I reach Italy." .Such was the message con-
veyed by the envoys. But when the Gallic chiefs, instantly
moving their camp to Iliberri, came without any reluctance to
Hannibal, it was by his gifts that they were persuaded to let his

LIVY.

23

army march perfectly unmolested through their territories past
the town of Ruscino.

25. In Italy meanwhile nothing was known but the bare fact,
reported at Rome by envoys from Massilia,* that Hannibal had
crossed the Ebro. At that moment, just as if it was the Alps
that had been crossed, the Boii, after sounding the Insubres, re-
volted, not so much from old animosities against Rome, as
because they were annoyed at the recent establishment of the
colonies of Placentiaf and Cremona near the Po in Gallic terri- t Piacenza.
tory. Suddenly they flew to arms, burst into the territory in
dispute and spread such dismay and confusion that even the
three Roman commissioners who had come to assign the lands,
Caius Lutatius, Caius Servilius, and Marcus Annius, as well as
the rural population, dared not trust themselves to the walls of
Placentia, and took refuge in Mutina.J About the name of t Modena.
Lutatius there .is no question ; for Annius and Servilius some
chronicles give the names of Acilius and Herennius, others
those of Cornelius Asina and Papirius Maso. There is some
doubt too whether the envoys sent to remonstrate with the
Boii were insulted, or whether the commissioners, as they were
measuring the lands, were attacked. While they were besieged
in Mutina, and the Gauls, a people quite ignorant of the science
of assaulting towns and very indolent in all military operations,
sat idle without attempting to assail the walls, sham negotia-
tions for peace were begun ; the envoys were summoned by the
Gallic chiefs to a conference, and there, contrary to all inter-
national law, and in actual violation of the pledge given for the
special occasion, were arrested, the Gauls declaring that they
would not let them go unless their own hostages were restored.
On hearing of this treatment of the envoys and of the danger of
Mutina and its garrison, the praetor, Lucius Manlius, burning
with anger, marched in loose order to the place. The road at
that time was surrounded with woods, and most of the country
was wild. Manhus advanced without reconnoitring, and fell Roman dhas/e
headlong into an ambuscade, out of which he struggled with
difficulty into open ground after great loss to his men. There
he fortified a camp, and as the Gauls lacked confidence to assail
it, the spirits of his soldiers revived, though it was understood
that as many as five hundred had fallen. He then began his

24

Livy.

BOOK XXI. march afresh, nor did the enemy show himself as long as the
troops advanced over open ground ; but as soon as the woods
were once more entered, the Gauls fell on the rear, spread the
greatest confusion and panic through all the army, and cut down
seven hundred men, capturing also six standards. When they
were once clear of the pathless and intricate forest, the Gauls
ceased to terrify and the Romans to feel alarm. Thence
through open country, where they marched easily and safely,

* Near Parma, they pushed on to Tannetum,* a district close to the Po. There
protected by temporary intrenchments and the windings of the
river, with the help too of the Brixian Gauls, they defended them-
selves against the daily increasing multitude of the enemy.

26. As soon as this sudden outbreak was reported at Rome,
and the Senate heard that a war with the Gauls was added to
the war with Carthage, Caius Atilius, the praetor, was ordered to
reinforce Manlius with one Roman legion and five thousand
allies, newly levied by the consul. Manlius reached Tannetum
without any fighting, as the enemy had retired in alarm.
Arrival 0/ Publius Comclius too, having raised a new legion in place of

"at^Massiiia!'' that which had been despatched with the praetor, sailed frorti
Rome with sixty war ships along the coasts of Etruria and
Liguria, and thence past the mountains of the Salyes, and so
arrived at Massilia. He pitched his camp at the nearest mouth of
the Rhone, for that river divides itself into several streams as it
flows into the sea. . He then encamped, hardly believing that
Hannibal had yet crossed the Pyrenees. When, however, he
understood that he was actually meditating the passage of the
Rhone, as he did not know where he might meet him, and his
soldiers were not properly recovered from the fatigue of the
voyage, he sent forward meanwhile three hundred picked cavalry
with some guides from Massilia, and from the fi-iendly Gauls to
reconnoitre the whole country and get a safe view of the enemy.
By this time Hannibal had reached the territory of the Volcae,
a powerful tribe, after having frightened or bribed all their
neighbours into submission. They dwell on both banks of the
Rhone ; but not feeling confidence that they could keep thq^
Carthaginian out of the territory nearest him, and anxious to have
the stream as a defence, they crossed the river with almost thei^
whole tribe, and occupied the further bank in arms. The othe^

LIVY. 25

tribes by the Rhone, and all even of this same tribe who had book xxi.
clung to their homes, Hannibal bribed into collecting and build- Hannibal
ing vessels, and it was indeed their own wish that his dsnxw P>'epa.res to cross

, , , , 1 u T 1 • 1 J r 1 ^ the Rhone.

should cross and thereby relieve their lands from the pressure
of such a multitude. Thus an immense number of vessels and
boats, carelessly constructed for use on the spot, was brought to-
gether. • Then", too, the Gauls setting the example of making fresh
boats, Avhich they hollowed out from single trees, the soldiers also,
tempted by the abundance of timber and the ease of the work,
hastily shaped out some clumsy hulks to convey themselves and
their belongings to the other side, satisfied if only these could
float and hold a cargo.

27. And now all was fairly ready for the passage, while

facing them stood the enemy in menacing array, cavalry and

infantry, occupying the entire bank. To distract their attention

} Hannibal ordered Hanno, son of Bomilcar, to go with part of

I the army, chiefly Spaniards, one day's march up the stream,

j starting at the first watch of the night, to cross the river on the

I first opportunity as stealthily as possible, and taking a circuit to

fall on the enemy' s rear at the required moment. The Gallic

guides provided for the purpose, told him that, about twenty-five

j miles higher up, the river encircled a little island, and could be

1 crossed at the point of division, where the channel was broader

j and consequently shallower. At this place timber was felled in

j eager haste, and rafts constructed for the passage of men and

[horses and other cargo. The Spaniards, without any trouble,

j threw their clothes on to bladders, laid their light shields on

these, and resting on them swam the stream. The rest of the army Passage 0/ the

crossed on a bridge of rafts ; having encamped close to the

river they recruited themselves by a day's repose after the fatigue

lof their night's march and laborious work, while their general

[watched intently the opportunity of executing his plan.

I Next day they advanced, and showed by some smoke from

an eminence that they had crossed and were not far off. Han-

inibal seeing this, not to miss his opportunity, gave the signal

ifor crossing. His infantry now had their light boats ready and

'in order, and his cavalry had larger rafts chiefly on account of

the horses. A line of vessels was thrown across higher up to

sustain the force of the current, and so gave smooth water to the

26

LIVY.

BOOK XXI,

Passage of the
elephants.

boats which were crossing below ; many of the horses as they
swam were towed by leathern thongs from the sterns, beside those
which had been put on board, saddled and bridled and ready
for their riders as soon as they had landed.

28. The Gauls on the bank rushed at them with all manner
of cries and their customary war songs, waving their shields over
their heads and brandishing javelins in their right hands, though
confronting them was this threatening array of vessels, with the
terrific roar of the water and the confused shouts of sailors and
soldiers, some of whom were struggling to stem the force of the
stream, while others on the opposite shore were cheering on
their comrades as they crossed. Scared as they were already
at the alarming scene before their eyes, a yet more appalling
din fell on their ears from the rear, where Hanno had taken their
camp. In another moment he was himself on the spot ; on
either side they were beset with peril, for a vast array of armed
men was landing from the vessels, and a host was unexpectedly
pressing them in their rear. The Gauls repulsed in their attempt
to fight a double battle, broke through where the way seemed
most open, and fled in wild panic to their villages. Hannibal
crossed with the rest of his army at his leisure, and encamped,
henceforth heartily despising any menaces from the Gauls.

For the passage of the elephants there were, I believe,
various devices. At any rate there are various traditions how
it was accomplished. Some say that the elephants were
crowded together on the bank, that here the fiercest of them was
provoked by its driver, pursued the man as he retreated into the
water, and drew the whole herd after it ; afterwards the simple
force of the stream carried them all to the opposite bank, as one
by one in their terror at the depth they lost their footing. It is,
however more generally understood that they were transported
on rafts ; such a plan would have seemed safer beforehand, as
afterwards it is certainly more credible. A raft two hundred feet
long and fifty broad was extended from the bank into the waterj
and, to save it from being carried down the stream, it was attached
to a point up the river by a number of strong hawsers, and ther
covered like a bridge with a layer of earth, so that the beast;
might walk on it as confidently as if it was firm ground,
this was fastened another raft of equal breadth, a hundred

1

LIVY. 27

long, suitable for being ferried across ; then the elephants were BOOK xxi.

driven, the females taking the lead, along the stationary raft,

as if it were a road. When they had passed on to the smaller

raft attached to it, the ropes with which this was slightly fastened

were instantly untied, and it was towed to the opposite bank by

some light craft. In this way as soon as the first had been

landed, the rest were fetched and conveyed across. They showed

no alarm while they were moving on what seemed a bridge

connected with the land ; the first panic was when the raft was

detached from its surroundings, and they were carried into the

deep channel. Then pressing one on another, as those on the

edge drew back from the water, they showed decided signs of

terror, till their very fear at the sight of the water all around

them made them quiet. • Some in their fury fell off into the

stream, but their weight kept them steady, and shaking off their

drivers and feeling their way into shallow water they reached

land.

29. During the passage of the elephants, Hannibal sent five
hundred Numidian cavalry to the Roman camp to reconnoitre
and ascertain the position, the strength and the plans of their
army. The three hundred Roman cavalry which had been
I despatched, as before related, from the mouth of the Rhone,
[ fell in with this squadron. A battle, fierce out of proportion to the f :'"^'v* cavairy

I skiriinsh between

I number of the combatants, ensued. There were many wounded the Rowans and
and an almost equal number killed on both sides, and the """ ^""'^'
I Romans were thoroughly exhausted when the flight and panic of
the Numidians gave them the victory. Of the victors there fell
about a hundred and sixty, not all Romans, some being Gauls ;
of the vanquished more than two hundred. Here was at once
a prelude and an omen of the war, portending indeed to Rome
success in the final issue, but a victory far from bloodless, to be
won after a doubtful struggle.

On the return of the men after this battle to their respective
generals, Scipio could form no resolution but to take his plans
!from the designs and movements of the enemy, and Hannibal
I also was in doubt whether he should persist in the advance
[towards Italy which he had begun, or should fight the Roman
I army, which had been the first to encounter him. He was de-
terred from immediate battle by the arrival of envoys from the

28 LIVY.

BOOK XXI. Boii, and their chief Magalus, who declared that they would be
his guides in all his marches, and his comrades in danger, while
they maintained that he must attack Italy with all the resources
of his arms and with strength unimpaired. The mass indeed of
the army dreaded the enemy, for they had not yet forgotten the
last war, but they feared still more the endless march over the
Alps, which rumours had made terrible, at any rate to the
inexperienced.
Hannibal 30. Hannibal accordingly, his resolve being now fixed to

vten. pursue his march and to advance on Italy, assembled his men

and worked on their feelings by the various methods of reproof
and encouragement. " I wonder," said he, "what sudden panic
" can have seized hearts ever fearless .? For many a year have
'* you fought and conquered ; nor did you quit Spain till all the
" tribes and countries embraced between two distant seas were
" under Carthaginian sway. Then, in your wrath at the demand
" of the Roman people for the surrender as criminals of the
" besiegers of Saguntum, whoever they might be, you crossed
" the Ebro to blot out the name of Rome and to give freedom
"to the world. Not a man of you thought the march too long,
"which you were then beginning, from the setting to the rising
" sun ; now, when you see far the greatest portion of it actually
" traversed — the passes of the Pyrenees amid the fiercest
" tribes surmounted— the Rhone, that broad river, crossed in the
" face of many thousand Gauls, and the very force of the
*' stream itself vanquished — when you have in sight the Alps
" the other side of which is in Italy — here, at the very gates
" of the enemy, you are halting in weariness. What do yoi
" imagine the Alps to be but mountain-heights 1 Suppose then
'•' to be loftier than the ranges of the Pyrenees, surely there is nt
"spot on earth which touches heaven or is an insuperabi
" barrier to man. As for the Alps, they are inhabited and cult;
" vated ; they produce and rear living creatures ; their gorges ar
'* passable for armies. Those very envoys, whom you see, wer
" not wafted aloft on wings across them ; neither were thei
" ancestors natives of the country ; they were foreign settlers i
" Italy, who often in vast troops, with their wives and children, a
" is the habit of emigrants, safely crossed these very Alps. To
" armed soldier, who carries nought but the implements of

1

LIVY. 29

"what is impassable or insurmountable ? What danger, what BOOK xxi.

" toil for six months did we not undergo to take Saguntum ?

" Aiming as we are at Rome, the capital of the world, can we

"think anything so formidable and arduous as to delay our

" enterprise ? The Gauls once captured what the Carthaginian

"despairs of approaching. Either then yield in spirit and in

" valour to a people whom in these days you have so repeatedly

" vanquished, or look forward to the plain between the Tiber

"and the walls of Rome as the goal of your expedition."

31. Having inspirited them with these words of encourage- He marches up

ment Hannibal bade them refresh themselves and prepare for

their march. Next day he advanced up the Rhone towards the

interior of Gaul, not because this was the more direct route to

the Alps, but thinking that the further he withdrew from the sea,

the less likely he was to encounter the Romans, whom it was

not his intention to engage till his arrival in Italy. In four days'

[ march he reached the Island. Here the I sere and the Rhone,

i which pour down their waters from Alpine summits far apart,

1 and embrace a large stretch of country, unite in one stream, and

I the plains between have received the name of the Island. In

the neighbourhood are settled the Allobroges, a tribe even at

that time inferior to none of the tribes of Gaul in resources or

renown. They were then at strife. Two brothers were con-

{tending for the throne. The elder, who had previously been king,

Brancus by name, was now being thrust aside by his younger

brother, and a party of the younger men, who had more might

than right on their side. The settlement of the feud was very SetUeiafeud

opportunely referred to Hannibal, and he having thus to dispose Aultfo^es.

of the kingdom restored the elder brother to power, such having

been the feeling of the senate and the chiefs. For this service

he was helped with supplies and an abundance of all things,

clothing especially, which the notorious horrors of the cold in

the Alps compelled him to provide.

Having composed the feuds of the Allobroges, Hannibal
marched towards the Alps, not, however, pursuing a direct
course, but turning leftwards to the country of the Tricastini,
from whi^h again he passed to that of the Tricorii, along the
extreme frontier of the Vocontii, a route at no point embarrassing
till he reached the river Druentia.* One of the rivers of the Alps, < Durance.

3°

LIVY.

fleet.

BOOK XXI. it is naturally far the most difficult to cross of all the streams
in Gaul ; for though it rushes down with a vast body of water,
it is not navigable, not being confined within banks, and flowing
in many channels at once, and these not always the same. Its
ever-changing shallows and eddies, which make the passage
perplexing even to one on foot, and the rocks and gravelly bed
over which it rolls, allow no sure and safe foothold ; and at this
time it happened to be swollen by rains, and so caused much
confusion among the men as they crossed — a confusion increased
by other alarms and by their own hurry and bewildered cries.

32. About three days after Hannibal had moved from the
Rhone, the consul Publius Cornelius reached the enemy's camp
with his army in order of battle, resolved to fight without a
Scipio/aUs to moment's delay. Seeing, however, that the lines were aban-
Hannib'ai'and doncd and that the enemy must be too far ahead to be easily
returns to his overtaken, he went back to the sea and to his ships, assured
that he could thus more safely and conveniently encounter
Hannibal on his descent from the Alps. But not to leave Spain,
his allotted province, bare of Roman defence, he sent his
brother Cneius Scipio with the largest part of his army against.
Hasdrubal, not merely to protect our old allies and form
fresh alliances, but actually to drive Hasdrubal out of the
country. Scipio himself with quite a small force returned to
Genua, purposing to defend Italy with the troops encamped in the
neighbourhood of the Po.
Passage of the From the Druentia Hannibal marched through a country

generally flat to the Alps, wholly unmolested by the Gauls in
those parts. And then, though rumour which usually magnifies
the unknown far beyond truth, had -given some anticipation of
the facts, still the near sight of the mountain-heights with their
snows almost mingling with the sky, the rude huts perched on the
rocks, cattle and beasts of burden shrivelled with cold, human
beings unkempt and wild, and all things animate and inanimate
stiffened with frost, with other scenes more horrible to behold
than to describe, revived their terror.

As the vanguard was struggling up the first slopes, the moun-
tain tribes showed themselves on the overhanging hills. Had
they lain hid in some of the obscurer valleys and suddenlf
rushed out to the attack, they must have caused terrible

Alps.

5uddenljt

LIVY. 31

and loss. Hannibal ordered a halt ; the Gauls were sent on to book xxi.
reconnoitre, and when he ascertained that here there was no
passage for his troops, he pitched his camp in the broadest
valley he could find, where all around was rugged and pre-
cipitous. Then from those same Gauls, mingling and conversing Attacks 0/ the
with the mountaineers, whom indeed in language and manners wamtainecrs.
they resembled, he learnt that it was only by day that the pass
was barred, and that at night all dispersed to their various
dweUings. With early dawn he advanced to the foot of the
hills, as if he meant to push his way by force in open day
through the defiles. In this feint, preparing a movement not
really intended, the day was spent, and the camp was fortified
on the spot on which it had been pitched. But the moment
Hannibal saw the mountaineers coming down from the hills and
the outposts weakly manned, he had a multitude of fires lit for
show, greater than would correspond with the number of troops
in camp, and then leaving behind him the baggage with the
cavalry as well as the greater part of the infantry, and taking
with him some lightly armed men, the bravest he could pick, he
rapidly mounted the passes and established himself on the very
hills which the enemy had occupied.

33. At daybreak the camp was broken up and the rest of the
army began to move. The mountaineers on a signal given were
now gathering in force from their fortresses to one of their
regular positions, when suddenly they saw the enemy, some on
the heights over their heads and in possession of their own strong-
hold, the remainder marching through the pass. The double im-
pression thus made on their sight and imagination, held them for
a brief while rooted to the earth. Soon, when they saw the
hurry in the defiles and how the army was in utter confusion
from its own disorder, the horses especially being wild with
fright, they thought that, could they in any way increase the
panic, it would insure the enemy's destruction, and they rushed
down the face of the rocks they knew so well, whether along
pathless steeps or obscure tracks. Then indeed both the foe
and the perils of the place fought against the Carthaginians, and
while every man strove for himself to get soonest out of danger,
there was more struggling among the soldiers themselves than
between them and the enemy. The horses were the most

32

LIVY.

BOOK XXI. dangerous hindrance to the army. They were terrified and
scared by the confused cries which the woods and echoing
valleys further multiplied, and if they chanced to be struck and
wounded, in the wildness of their terror they made fearful
havoc alike among the men and the baggage of every description.
The pressure, too, in the defile, each side of which was a sheer
precipice, hurled numbers down to an immense depth, and
among them were soldiers with their accoutrements ; but it was
more particularly the beasts with their burdens, which rolled
down with just such a crash as a falling house.

Horrible as all this was to behold, Hannibal halted a while
and kept his men in their ranks, so as not to aggravate the dis-
order and panic, and then, as soon as he saw a break in the line,
and the danger that the army might accomplish the passage
safely indeed but to no purpose, because stript of all their bag-
gage, he hurried down from his position on the heights and
routed the enemy, but at the same time increased the confusion
of his own troops. This confusion, however, was quieted in a
moment when the flight of the mountaineers left the roads clear,
and all soon marched through the pass not merely in peace
but almost in silence. Next he took a fortress, the capital of
the district, and some villages in the neighbourhood, and fed
his troops for three days on the corn and cattle he had seized.
In those three days he accomplished a considerable march, as
there was not much hindrance from the ground or from the
mountaineers, whom they had cowed at the outset.

34. Then they reached a canton, which, for a mountain dis-
trict, was densely peopled. Here Hannibal was all but cut off,
not by open fighting, but by his own peculiar arts, treachery and]
ambuscade. Some old men, governors of the fortresses, came to 1
him as envoys, with assurances that warned by the salutary]
examples of the misfortunes of others, they preferred to mal
trial of the friendship rather than of the might of the Ca
thaginians ; that thereupon they would obediently do his bidding
and they begged him to accept supplies, guides for his marcl
and hostages as a guarantee of their promises. Hanniba
feeling that he must not either rashly trust or slight ther
lest refusal might make them open enemies, gave them a gr^|
cious answer. He accepted the offered hostages, and used thjj

Peril 0/ the
army.

iii\

LIVY.

33

supplies which they had themselves brought to the road, but book xxi.

pe followed the guides with his army in fighting order, not as if

le was among a friendly people. His van was formed of the

elephants and cavalry, while he marched himself in the rear

ffith the main strength of the infantry, anxiously reconnoitring

It every step. The moment they entered a narrow pass,

dominated on one side by an overhanging height, the barbarians

iprang out of their ambuscades in every direction, attacking in

ront and rear, discharging missiles and coming to close

quarters, and rolling down huge stones upon the army. It was

)n the rear that the enemy pressed in greatest force. The

nfantry-column wheeled and faced him ; but it was proved

jeyond a doubt that, had not the rear been well strengthened, a

errible disaster would have been sustained in that pass. Even

is it was, they were brought to the extremest jeopardy, and were

vithin a hairsbreadth of destruction. For while Hannibal

vas hesitating about sending his men into the defile because,

hough he could himself support the cavalry, he had no reserve

n his rear for the infantry, the mountaineers rushed on his

ianks, and having cut his line in half barred his advance. One

light he had to pass without his cavalry and his baggage.

35. Next day, as the barbarians were less active in their
ttacks, the army was again united, and fought its way through
he pass, but not without loss, which, however, fell more heavily
n the beasts of burden than on the men. From this point
he mountaineers became less numerous ; hovering round more
ke brigands than soldiers, they threatened now the van, now

e rear, whenever the ground gave them a chance, or stragglers
advance or behind offered an opportunity. The elephants,

ough it was a tedious business to drive them along the narrow
frecipitous passes, at least protected the troops from the enemy
j'herever they went, inspiring as they did, a peculiar fear in all
l^ho were unused to approach them.

On the ninth day they reached the top of the Alps, passing r/iey reach the
)r the most part over trackless steeps, and by devious ways, """'^asf^'*
Uo which they were led by the treachery of their guides.
Two days they encamped on the height, and the men, worn out
Hth hardships and fighting, were allowed to rest. Some beasts
If burden too which had fallen down among the crags, found
1 D

34

LIVY.

BOOK XXI. their way to the camp by following the army's track. The men
were already worn out and wearied with their many miseries,
when a fall of snow coming with the setting of the Pleiades
added to their sufferings a terrible fear. At daybreak the
march commenced, and as the army moved wearily over ground
all buried in snow, languor and despair were visibly written on
every face, when Hannibal stepped to the front, and having
ordered a halt on a peak which commanded a wide and distant

Italy in view, prospect, pointed to Italy and to the plains round the Po, as they
lay beneath the heights of the Alps, telling his men, '"Tis the
"walls not of Italy only but of Rome itself that you are now
" scaling. What remains," he added, " will be a smooth descent ;
" in one, or at the most, in two battles we shall have the citadel
" and capital of Italy in our grasp and power."

The army then began to advance, and now even the enemy
attempted nothing but some stealthy ambuscades, as oppor
tunity offered. The remainder, however, of the march provec
Difficulty of the far more difficult than the ascent, as the Alps for the most par
on the Italian side have a shorter and therefore a steeper slope
In fact the whole way was precipitous, narrow, and slippery, stj
much so that they could not keep themselves from falling, no
could those who had once stumbled retain their foothold. Thu
they tumbled one over another and the beasts of burden ovj
the men.

36. Next they came to a much narrower pass with walls
rock so perpendicular that a light-armed soldier could han
let himself down by feeling his way, and grasping with his hai
the bushes and roots sticking out around him. The place
old was naturally precipitous, and now by a recent landsli
had been broken away sheer to a depth of a thousand f(
Here the cavalry halted, as if it must be the end of their ro
and Hannibal wondering what delayed the march, was told tn
the rock was impassable. Then he went himself to examij
the spot. There seemed to be no doubt that he must lead 1:
army round by pathless and hitherto untrodden slopes, howev
tedious might be the circuit. This route, however, was impK
ticable ; while indeed on last season's still unmelted snow la)'
fresh layer of moderate depth. The foot of the first comer fou
a good hold on the soft and not very deep drift, but when

LIVY. 35

aaa been once trampled down under the march of such a host book xxi.
of men and beasts, they had to walk on the bare ice beneath,
I and the liquid mud from the melting snow. Here there was a
horrible struggle. The slippery ice allowed no firm foothold,
and indeed betrayed the foot all the more quickly on the slope,
so that whether a man helped himself to rise by his hands or
knees, his supports gave way, and he fell again. And here
there were no stalks or roots to which hand or foot could cling.
Thus there was incessant rolling on nothing but smooth ice or
slush of snow. The beasts broke through, occasionally treading
down even to the very lowest layer of snow, and when they fell,
as they wildly struck out with their hoofs in their efforts to rise,
they cut clean to the bottom, till many of them stuck fast in the
hard and deep frozen ice, as if caught in a trap.

37. At last, when both men and beasts were worn out with
fruitless exertion, they encamped on a height, in a spot which
with the utmost difficulty they had cleared ; so much snow had
to be dug out and removed. The soldiers were then marched
off to the work of making a road through the rock, as there
only was a passage possible. Having to cut into the stone, they
heaped up a huge pile of wood from great trees m the neigh-
bourhood, which they had felled and lopped. As soon as there
was strength enough in the wind to create a blaze they The rocks melted
lighted the pile, and melted the rocksj_ as they heated, by ""'^-^ vinegar
pouring vinegar on them. The burning stone was 'cleft open
with iron implements, and then they relieved the steepness of
the slopes by gradual winding tracks, so that even the elephants
as well as the other beasts could be led down. Four days were
spent in this rocky pass, and the beasts almost perished of
hunger, as the heights generally are quite bare, and such herbage
|as grows is buried in snow. Amid the lower slopes were y,^ ^ j .^
[valleys, sunny hills too, and streams, and woods beside them, lower valleys.
jand spots now at last more worthy to be the habitations of
jman. Here they sent the beasts to feed, and the men worn out
jwith the toil of road making, were allowed to rest. In the next
jthree days they reached level ground, and now the country was
iless wild, as was also the character of the inhabitants.
I 38. Such on the whole was the march which brought them
|to Italy, in the fifth month, according to some authors, after

D 2

36 LIVY.

BOOK XXI. leaving New Carthage, the passage of the Alps having occupied
_, , fifteen days. As to the numbers of Hannibal's army on his

The numbers ^

of Hannibal's arrival in Italy, historians are not agreed. The highest reckon-
army. .^^ ^^ ^ hundred thousand infantry and twenty thousand
cavalry ; the lowest twenty thousand infantry and six thousand
cavalry. Cincius Alimentus, who tells us that he was taken
prisoner by Hannibal, would have the greatest weight with
me, did he not confuse the numbers by adding the Gauls
and Ligurians. Including these there arrived eighty thousand
infantry and ten thousand cavalry, though it is more probable
that they flocked to his standard in Italy ; and so some writers
state. Cincius says that Hannibal himself told him that, after
crossing the Rhone, he lost thirty-six thousand men^ and a vast
number of horses and beasts of burden. The tribe that he first
encountered on his descent into Italy were the Taurini, a half
Gallic race. About this all agree, and therefore I am the more
The passes by Surprised at there being a controversy as to where Hannibal
w ic lecrosse . (,j.Qgggjj ^^ Alps,and at the vulgar belief that he marched over the
Poenine Pass, and that the range thence got its name. I wonder,
too, that Caelius says that he crossed by the heights of Cremo.
Both these passes would have brought him, not to the Taurini, but
through other mountain tribes to the Libuan Gauls. Nor is it
likely that those routes to Gaul were then open ; certainly
those which lead to the Poenine would have been barred by
tribes of half German race. And assuredly these mountains,
according to the Seduni and Veragri, the inhabitants of the range,
did not get their name, if such an argument has any weight, from
any passage of the Poeni, but from the deity to whom the summit
is sacred, and whom the mountaineers call Poeninus.

Hannibal gives 39. Very Opportunely for the opening of the campaign, w;
had broken out between the Taurini, the nearest tribe, and t
Insubres. But Hannibal could not get his army ready to hel
either side, for it was in recovering itself that it felt most keenly the
miseries which had accumulated on it. Ease after hardshi
plenty after want, comfort after squalor and filth acted various];
on their neglected and well-nigh 'brutalised frames. This wal
enough to make the consul Publius Cornelius march rapidly
to the Po, as soon he had reached Pisae by sea, though the troops
which he took over from Manlius and Atilius were raw levie^

his soldiers rest.

I

.1?

\

Livy. 37

still cowed by recent disgraces. He desired to engage the book xxi.
enemy before he had recovered himself. But by the time that
he had arrived at Placentia, Hannibal had moved from his camp, He advances to
and had stormed one of the towns of the Taurini, the capital of Tad cllfedThl"
the tribe, as the citizens chose to decline his friendship. He P"-

would have secured the alliance of the Gauls in the neighbour-
hood of the Po, not merely by intimidation but with their own
consent, had not the consul's sudden arrival surprised them, as
they were looking out for an opportunity of revolt. Hannibal at
the same moment left the Taurini, feeling that the Gauls, in their
uncertainty which side they ought to take, would range themselves
on that of the first comer.

The two armies were now nearly in sight of each other,
and the generals had almost met, each penetrated with a certain
admiration for his antagonist, though as yet he knew but little
of him. Hannibal's name, indeed, even before the fall of
Saguntum, was familiar to the Romans, while Scipio was ^
regarded by Hannibal as an eminent man, from the simple fact 11
that he had been singled out for command against himself. And "
now they had risen in each other's esteem ; Scipio, because,
though left in Gaul, he had confronted Hannibal on his descent
into Italy ; Hannibal, because he had attempted and accom-
plished the passage of the Alps. Scipio, however, was the first
to cross the Po. He moved his camp to the river Ticinus, and
before leading his men into action delivered the following
harangue for their encouragement : —

40. " Soldiers, were I leading into battle the army I had sdpio's address
*' with me in Gaul, I should have thought it needless to address
" you. What use, indeed, could there be in words of encourage-
" ment to the horsemen who gloriously defeated the enemy's
*' cavalry at the Rhone, or to the legions with which I pursued
** that same enemy in his flight, finding in his retreat, and in his
" refusal to give battle the equivalent of victory ? Now, since that
" army, having been levied for Spain, is fighting there, as the
*' Senate and people of Rome willed that it should, with my
"brother Cn. Scipio in command, and under my auspices, and
" since I have volunteered to command in this battle, that you
" may have a consul to lead you against Hannibal and the
" Carthaginians, I, a new commander over new soldiers, am

to his soldiers.

38 LIVY.

BOOK XXI. " bound to say a few vfords. I would have you know both the
"enemy and the conditions of the war. You have to fight,
" soldiers, with the men whom you vanquished by sea and land
" in the former war, from whom for twenty years you have
'' exacted tribute, from whom you wrested as prizes of the contest
" provinces which you now hold, Sicily and Sardinia. In this
" battle, therefore, there will be in you and in them the spirit
" which belongs respectively to the victors and the vanquished.
" Even now they are going to fight, not because they are con-
" fident, but because they are compelled. For surely you
" cannot think that the very men who declined battle with their
" army in its full strength, have found more confidence now
" that they have lost two-thirds of their infantry and cavalry in
" crossing the Alps. Well, but you will say that though they
"are but few, they have such stout hearts and frames, that
" scarce any strength can bear the brunt of their resolute
" attack. No ; they are nothing but ghosts and shadows of
" men, half dead with hunger, cold, filth, and misery, bruised and
" maimed amid crags and rocks ; add to this their limbs frost-
" bitten, their fingers stiffened by the snow,their frames shrivelled
" with the frost, their arms shattered and broken, their horses
" lame and feeble. Such is the cavalry, such the infantry with
" which you are going to fight. It is not an enemy, it is the last
" remnant of an enemy that you will have before you ; and what
" I fear most is that when you have fought, it will be the Alps
" that will seem to have conquered Hannibal. Yet perhaps if
"was right it should be so, and that the gods, without huma;
" aid, should begin and all but terminate a war waged agains.
" a treaty-breaking leader and people, while we, who next to
" the gods have been grievously wronged, merely finish off whai
" they have both begun and almost ended. ■

41. "I have no fear that any of you will think that I airf
"talking grandly to encourage you, while in heart I feel far
" otherwise. I might have gone with my array to Spain, my
"allotted province, for which I had started, where I should
" have a brother to share my counsels and be the companion ol
" my dangers, Hasdrubal instead of Hannibal for my foe, ancl
"an unquestionably less formidable war. But, as I was sailing;
" along the shores of Gaul, on hearing the rumours about this

LIVY.

39

" enemy I landed, sent on my cavalry and advanced my camp to BOOK xxi.

" the Rhone. In an action fought by my cavalry, the only

" portion of my army with vi'hich I had an opportunity of fight-

" ing, I vanquished the enemy. His infantry, which hurried on

" with the rapidity of a flight, I could not overtake, and so I

" returned with all possible speed to my ships, made this long

" circuit by sea and land, and now almost at the foot of the

" Alps have met this dread foe. Can you think that I have

" stumbled- on him unexpectedly, when seeking to shun a con-

"flict, rather than that I am confronting him on his very track,

" challenging and forcing him to fight ? It is a joy to me to try

" whether in the last twenty years the earth has suddenly pro-

" duced another race of Carthaginians, or whether they are the

" same as they were when they fought at the Agates Islands,

'* whom you then let go from Eryx at a valuation of eighteen

" denarii for each man. And this Hannibal, is he, as he boasts,

" a rival of Hercules in his expeditions, or the man whom his

" father left to pay tax and tribute and be the slave of the Roman

" people ? Were it not that his crime at Saguntum is driving

" him on, he would surely look back, if not on his conquered

" country, at least on his home and his father, and on those treaties

"in the very handwriting of that Hamilcar who, at our consul's

'• bidding, withdrew his garrison from Eryx, accepted with

" murmurs and lamentation the hard terms imposed on Carthage,

" and consented to give up Sicily and pay tribute to Rome./ So

" I would have you fight, soldiers, not merely with the feelings

" you have towards any other foe, but with a pecuiiar wrath and

"fury, as if you saw your own slaves suddenly bearing arms

" against you. You might have destroyed them by that worst

" of all human punishments, starvation, when they were

" shut in at Eryx ; you might have crossed with your victorious

" fleet into Africa, and within a few days have effaced Carthage

" without a struggle. But we gave quarter when they begged

" it ; we released them from blockade ; we made peace with

" the conquered ; finally, we took them under our protection in

" their SDrc distress during the African war. By way of return

" for these boons, they come following the lead of a young mad-

" man, to attack our country. And would that this battle were

" only for your honour, and not for your safety. Not for the

40 LIVY.

BOOK. XXI. "possession of Sicily and Sardinia, which were formerly in
" dispute, but for Italy you have now to fight. There is no
"other army behind you to bar the enemy's way if we do not
'■ conquer ; there are no more Alps, during the passage of which
'■ new forces can be raised. Here, soldiers, you must make a
" stand as if we were fighting before the walls of Rome. Let
" every man of you assure himself that he is defending with
" his arms, not himself, but his wife and his little children ; and
" let him not cmrikieJiimself to thoughts of his family ; let him
" reflect again and again that the Senate and Commons of Rome
" are now anxTtJttsly watching our prowess, and that such as
" shall be our strength and resolution, such too in the future
" will be the fortune of that gceat city and of the empire
" of Rome."
Hannibal lets 4^' So spake the consul to the Romans. Hannibal,
Ais prisoners thinking that his men might be best stirred by deeds first and

/i^'/ti in single ° ° . .

combat, and words aftcrwards, formed his army in a circle and exhibited to

the vic7orious° them a spectacle. Some prisoners taken from the mountaineers

, were placed bound in the midst. Gallic weapons were flung

down at their feet, and an interpreter was ordered to ask whether

any of them would like to fight, if he were to be released from

his bonds and were to receive, as ilia-prize-of victory, arms and

a charger. All to a man cried out for arms and a combat, and

when the lot had been thrown for that purpose, every man was

eager to be the person whom fortune should select for the deed.

Each man too, as his lot fell out, with brisk alacrity and joyful

exultation, amid congratulating comrades, hurriedly seized his

weapons and danced after his country's fashion. When they

came to fight, the prevailing temper, not only of their fellows in

the same plight as themselves, but also of the crowd of spectators

was such that the fortune of the man who nobly fell was as much

applauded as that of the conqueror.

Hannibal's 43. Hannibal having thus impressed his men by the

^^"'artny '^" spectacle of several pairs of combatants and then dismissed

them, afterwards summoned them together and spoke as

follows ; —

" If, soldiers, you mean to exhibit in estimating your own lot
" that same temper which you have just shown in witnessing the
" exhibition of the fortunes of others, we have already conquered.

LIVY. 41

" What you saw yonder, was not a mere spectacle ; it was, so to book xxi.
" say, a picture of your present position. I almost think that
" fortune has imposed heavier bonds and heavier necessities on
"you than on your prisoners. .On your right and on your left
" two seas shut you in, and you have not so much as a single
" vessel for your escape. Round you is the river Po, a broader
"and more rapid stream than the Rhone ; behind ha»g=ov©j;
" you the Alps, which in the fiill freshness of your strength you
" could har-dly cross. Here, soldiers, you must conquer or die,
* as soon as you have met the enemy ; and that same fortune,
" which has imposed on you the necessity of fighting, holds out
" to you, if victorious, the grandest rewards which men can hope
" for even from the immortal gods. Were Sicily and Sardinia,
" which were wrested from our forefathers, all we were about to
" recover by our valour, even this would be an ample recompense.
" All that the Romans have won, all the accumulated fruits of
" their many triumphs, all this and its possessors will be yours.
" For so magnificent a reward haste to arm yourselves, the gods
"being your good helpers. Hitherto while you hunted cattle
"amid those wild mountains of Lusitania and Celtiberia, you
" have seen no recompense for your hardships and dangers ;
" now it is time for you to enter on rich and lucrative campaigns,
" and to earn great wages for your service. Your vast marches
" over these many mountains, over these rivers, through these
" warlike tribes, you have already accomplished ; here Fortune
"has given you an end of your labours ; here, when you
" have finished your campaigning, she will give you a worthy
" reward.

" And do not think that, because the war has a great name,
" victory will be correspondingly difficult. Often has a despised
" foe fought a bloody battle, and famous nations and kings been
" vanquished with a very slight effort. If you take away the mere
" glitter of Rome's name, what ground is there for comparing the
" Romans with yourselves ? Not to speak of your twenty years'
" service, marked by a valour and a success known to all, you have
" marched hither victorious from the Pillars of Hercules, from
" the ocean and the remotest limits of the earth, through a host of
" the fiercest peoples of Spain and Gaul. You will fight with raw
" levies, which this very summer have been beaten, vanquished

42 LIVY.

HOOK XXI. "and hemmed in by the Gauls ; an army of which their com-
" mander knows nothing, and which knows nothing of him. Am
" I, born as I almost was, certainly bred in my father's tent, and
" he the most famous of generals, I, the conqueror of Spain and
" Gaul, victorious over the Alpine tribes, and, what is even more,
" over the Alps themselves, to compare myself with this six
" months' officer, this deserter from his own army ? Why, I am
" sure that if he were to be shown the Carthaginians and Romans
" without their standards, he would not know which army he
"commanded. It is, I consider, no light matter, soldiers, that
" there is not a man among you before whose eyes I have not
" myself achieved some soldierly deed, not a man whose valour
" I have not personally witnessed, and whose honourable dis-
" tinctions I cannot call to mind with their proper dates and
" scenes. As your foster-son rather than as your commander,
" with those whom I have praised and rewarded a thousand
" times, I shall go into battle against men unknowing and unknown
" to each other.

44. " Wherever I turn my eyes, I see around me nothing
" but courage and solid strength, veteran infantry, cavalry regular
" and irregular from the noblest tribes, you the most loyal and
" bravest of allies, you, men of Carthage, resolving to fight for
" your country, and in a most righteous quarrel. 'Tis we who
" attack, who with hostile standards are marching down on
" Italy, certain to fight more bravely and fearlessly than the foe,
" inasmuch as he who attacks has higher hope and greater spirit
" than he who defends. Our hearts too are burning with the
" excitement of wrath, of wrong remembered and indignities
" endured. They demanded for execution first myself, your
" general, then all of you that were at the siege of Saguntum ;
" had we been surrendered, they meant to inflict on us the
" extremest tortures. The most merciless, the most arrogant ol
" nations would have everything its own and at its owr
" disposal, and thinks it right to prescribe to us with whon^
" we may have war, with whom peace. It confines and incloses
" us within the boundaries of mountains and rivers, which wt
" are not to pass, but it does not itself observe those boundaries
" which it fixes. * You are not to cross the Ebro ; you are not t(
" meddle with Saguntum.' Well, but Saguntum is not on th;

LIVY.

43

The Rotitnns
cross the
Ticiniii.

" Ebro. 'You are not to move a foot's breadth anywhere.' book xxi

" Is it a trifle that you are robbing me of my oldest provinces,

" Sicily and Sardinia ? Will you also cross over into Spain, and

" if I withdraw thence, into Africa ? Will cross over, do I say ?

" They have crossed over. Of the two consuls of this year they

" have sent one to Africa, the other to Spain. Nothing is left

" us but what we shall make good by our arms. They can

" afford to be cowards and dastards, they who have something

" to fall back on, whom their own country, their own territory

" will receive, as they flee through its safe and peaceful roads.

" For you it is a necessity to be brave ; and now that you have

" resolved in despair to cast away all but the alternatives of

" victory or death, you must either conquer, or, if fortune be

" doubtful, meet your fate in battle rather than in flight. If this

" is the fixed resolve of every heart, I say again, you have con-

" quered. Contempt of death is the mightiest weapon given by

" the gods to man for the winning of victory."

45. Such were the stirring words by which the soldiers'
hearts on both sides were kindled for the battle. The Romans
threw a bridge over the Ticinus, building a fort also on it for
its defence. While the enemy was busy with this work, the
Carthaginian despatched Maharbal with a squadron of five
hundred Numidian cavalry to ravage the lands of the allies of
Rome, with orders to spare the Gauls as much as possible and
to incite the minds of their chiefs to revolt. As soon as the
bridge was completed, the Roman army was marched across it
into the territory of the Insubres, and encamped five miles from
Ictumuli. Here Hannibal had his camp. He promptly recalled
Maharbal and the cavalry, when he saw that a battle was
imminent ; and as he thought that he could not say enough by
way of encouragement to inspirit his men, he summoned them
' to an assembly and offered definite rewards, in the hope of
j which they were to fight. He would give them land in Italy,
I Africa, Spain, wherever each man liked, free of all burdens to
j its possessor and his children ; the man who preferred money to
j land he would furnish amply with coin ; those of the allies who
i wished to become Carthaginian citizens should have the
: opportunity ; as for those who chose to return to their homes,
j he would take care that they would never wish to exchange

Hannibal

prepares for

battle.

44 LIVY.

BOOK XXI. their lot for that of any of their fellow-countrymen. To slaves
also who accompanied their masters he offered freedom, and to
the masters were to be given two slaves in place of each. That
they might be assured of the fulfilment of these promises, he
held in his left hand a lamb and a flint knife in his right, and
invoked Jupiter and the other gods to slay him as he slew the
lamb should he break faith. After this imprecation, he crushed
the animal' s head with the stone. Then, as if every man felt
that the gods authorised his hopes, to delay the fight seemed to
be to delay the attainment of their desires, and they all with
one heart and voice clamoured for battle.

46. Among the Romans there was no such eagerness.
Beside other fears, some recent portents had dismayed them. A
wolf had entered their camp, and after mangling all he met had
escaped uninjured. A swarm of bees too had settled on a tree
overhanging the general's tent. Scipio went through- the due
propitiations, and then with his cavalry and light- armed spear-
men set out to reconnoitre the enemy's camp and learn from a
near view the composition of his army. He met Hannibal, also
riding forward with some troopers to ascertain the nature of the
neighbouring ground. Neither at first saw the other. Soon the
dust rising more and more densely with the movement of such
a host of men and horses indicated an enemy's approach. Both
armies halted and prepared for battle.
The Romans are Scipio posted his light-armed spearmen and his Gallic

cavalry action, cavalry in his first line, his Roman soldiers with the flower <jj
the allies in his reserves. Hannibal ranged his regular cavalry
in his centre ; his wings he strengthened with his Numidian%(
Scarce had the battle-shout been raised, when the spearmi
fled to the second line among the reserves. For some ti
after this the fight between the cavalry was doubtful ; but after
while as the foot-soldiers mingling with their ranks frightem
the horses, and many of the riders were thrown or dismounti
on seeing their fellow-soldiers hard pressed and in danger,
battle came to be fought to a great degree on foot. The
the Numidians on the wings, making a slight wheel, show<
themselves on the rear. This alarming sight quite confound*
the Romans, and their terror was increased by the wounding
their general, who was rescued from his danger by the prom]

LIVY,

45

The Romans

fall back on

Placentia.

arrival of his son, then in his early youth. This was the young book xxi.

jman to whom belongs the glory of the ending of this war, and ^^^.^-^ ^^„„^ ^

who was named Africanus for his splendid victory over Hannibal end rescued by

and the Carthaginians. Still there was a disorderly flight,

especially among the spearmen, who were the first whom the

Nuniidians had charged. Some of the cavalry closed up, re-

beived the consul into their centre, and defending him with

;heir persons as well as with their weapons brought him back

0 the camp in a retreat free from hurry and confusion. The

jlory of having saved the consul is ascribed by Ccelius to a

ilave of Ligurian origin ; but I prefer myself to accept as true

he story about the son, which has the preponderance of

Luthority and has been uniformly asserted by tradition.

47. Such. was the first battle with Hannibal. It clearly
howed the Carthaginian's superiority in cavalry, and that, con-
equently, open plains, such as those between the Po and the
jUps, were not a suitable battle-field for the Romans. Accord-
ligly on the following night, orders were given to the soldiers to
ollect their baggage, the camp was moved from the Ticinus,
nd a forced march made to the Po, in the hope of finding the
afts with which the river had been bridged still unbroken, and so
if crossing without confusion and pursuit from the enemy. They
eached Placentia* before Hannibal knew for certain that they
kad left the Ticinus ; as it was, however, he captured about six
^undred who were lingering on the left bank of the Po, lazily
posing the raft. He could not cross the bridge, as the entire
jaft drifted down the stream, as soon as its extremities were
Infastened. According to Caelius, Mago at once swam across
^e river with the cavalry and Spanish infantry, while Hannibal
[imself took his men across by the upper fords of the Po, first
iosting his elephants in line so as to check the force of the
lurrent. This will hardly find belief with those who know the
iver ; for it is not likely that cavalry could with safety to their
|rms and horses have stemmed so rapid a stream, even supposing
hat all the Spaniards had already crossed it on inflated bladders ;
[esides a circuit of several days would have been required to
liscover fords on the Po by which an army encumbered with
'aggage could cross. I put more confidence in those historians
jrho relate that with difficulty, in two days' search, a place was

Piacenza.

46 LIVY.

BOOK XXI. found for bridging the river with a raft, by which Mago and
the light-armed Spaniards were sent on in advance. While
Hannibal, who tarried a while near the river to receive embassies
from the Gauls, was crossing with his heavy infantry, Mago and
his horsemen in one day's march after the passage came up with
the enemy at Placentia. A few days afterwards Hannibal
Hannibal fortified his camp at a distance of six miles from Placentia ; the
fo ows t lem up. ^^^^ ^^^ j^g drew up his army in sight of the enemy, and offered
battle.

48. The following night some auxiliary Gauls perpetrated
an outrage in the Roman camp ; there was more disturbance,
however, than damage. As many as two thousand infantry and
two hundred cavalry, cutting down the sentries at the camp-gates,
deserted to Hannibal. The Carthaginian received them kindly,
animated them with thehope of great rewards, anddismissedevery
man to his native state that he might work on the minds of his
fellow-countrymen. Scipio looked on the outrage as a sign of
the impending revolt of all the Gauls, who, affected by the
contagion of the crime, would fly to arms in a sudden access of-
madness. Though still suffering from his wound, he yet set off with
his army in silence at the fourth watch of the following night, and
Sciph encamps moved his camp to the river Trcbia, where was some rather high
ground and hills ill adapted for cavalry. He was less successfjj
in escaping observation than he had been at the Ticimi
Hannibal first despatched his Numidians, then all his caval
and would at least have thrown into disorder Scipio's rear, ha
not the Numidians in their greed for spoil turned off into tl
Roman camp. Ransacking every corner in the camp and was
ing time without any adequate compensation for such delay, thej
let the enemy slip from their grasp. After taking a view of 1
Romans, who had now crossed the Trebia and were measurii
out their camp, they cut down a few loiterers whom they
surprised on their own side of the stream.

Scipio, no longer able to bear up against the pain of
wound, which the march had irritated, and thinking that
ought to wait for his colleague, who had, he understood, bee
already recalled from Sicily, selected and fortified a positic
near the river, which seemed safest for a permanent camjl
Hannibal also encamped at no great distance ; though he w^l

M

LIVY.

47

elated by his successful cavalry engagement, he was equally
perplexed by the daily increasing scarcity which encountered
him in his advance through the enemy's country, in which no
supplies had been anywhere prepared. He sent therefore to the
town of Clastidium,* where the Romans had accumulated vast
stores of corn. His troops were on the point of attack, when
hope was held out that the place would be betrayed to him. At
no great cost, merely that of four hundred got^ coins, Dasius
BrundisinuS, the officer of the garrison, was bribed, and
Clastidium delivered up to Hannibal. The place served as a
magazine to the Carthaginians while in camp on the Trebia.
There was no cruel treatment of the prisoners from the
surrendered garrison, as Hannibal sought at the outset to get a
name for clemency.

49. Though the war by land was at a standstill at the
Trebia, some operations had been carried on by the consul
Sempronius, and also before his arrival, both by land and sea,
round Sicily and the closely adjacent islands. Twenty five-
banked ships had been sent by the Carthaginians with a
thousand soldiers to ravage the coasts of Italy. Of these nine
Ireached the Liparae islands and eight the Isle of Vulcan, while
jthree were driven into the straits by a heavy sea. They were
{seen from Messana and Hiero, king of Syracuse, who happened
jat the time to be at Messana waiting the arrival of the Roman
jconsul, despatched twelve ships against them ; these captured
jthem without resistance and brought them into that port. From
jthe prisoners it was ascertained, that beside tbe fleet of twenty
Iships, to which they themselves belonged, thirty-five other five-
[banked ships were making for Sicily with the view of rousing
lold allies ; that the chief object was the seizure of Lilybaeum t ;
jthat it was their belief that these ships also had been driven
ion the .Agates islands in the same storm by which they were
themselves scattered. King Hiero communicated all this by
[letter, just as he had heard it, to Marcus .^milius, the praetor,
j whose province Sicily was, and advised him to hold Lilybaeum
|with a strong garrison. Instantly the praetor sent off to the
(various states envoys and military officers, who were to urge
jtheir allies to vigilance in self-defence. Above all, Lilybaeum
|was busy with warlike preparations, orders having been publicly

-"-vnf w'

* Castegnio.

Clastidium

ireacherotisly

surrendered to

Hannibal.

Naval

operations off

Sicily.

t Marsala.

48 LIVY.

BOGrL jiXi. issued that the seamen were to bring to the ships cooked food
for ten days. There would thus be nothing to delay embark-
ation as soon as the signal was given. Along the whole coast
too men were despatched to observe the enemy's approach from
watch-towers.

Accordingly, though the Carthaginians had purposely de-
layed the advance of their fleet, so as to approach Lilybaeum
before daylight, yet they were perceived, as the moon shone all
night, and they came with their masts standing. In a moment
the signal was given from the watch-towers, and in the town
there was a call to arms, and the fleet was manned. Some of
the soldiers were on the walls and on guard at the gates, some on
board the ships. The Carthaginians, seeing that they would have
to deal with an enemy who was by no means unprepared, kept
outside the harbour till daybreak, passing the time in taking down
the masts and getting their vessels ready for action. At dawn
of day they sailed bacTc with their fleet into the open sea, that
there might be room for a battle, and that the enemy's ships
might have free passage out of the harbour. Nor did the
Romans decline an engagement, encouraged as they were by the
memories of past achievements on those same seas, and by the
multitude and valour of their soldiers.
j-f^g 50. As soon as they had reached the open water, the

'^^^i^dff^'^rd Roi^^-ns were eager to close and to try their strength at neaij
off Lilybaum. quarters. The Carthaginians, on the contrary, avoided th
enemy, preferring manoeuvres to direct attack, and wishing t
make it a contest of ships more than of men and arms ; for thei
fleet, though amply manned with mariners, was poor in soldiers
and whenever a ship was grappled by the foe, the troops whic
fought from it were in numbers decidedly inferior. This havin
been observed, the confidence of the Romans rose at the sight 0:
their numerous soldiery, while that of the enemy was depressed b;
their deficiency. Seven Carthaginian vessels were at once sur
rounded ; the remainder took to flight. In the captured shipg
were seventeen hundred soldiers and sailors, and among them
three Carthaginian nobles. The Roman fleet returned without
loss into harbour, only one vessel having been pierced, but even
this was brought back safely.

Immediately after this battle, before those at Messana

t

LIVY.

49

anything of it, Sempronius the consul arrived at the town.
As he entered the straits, King Hiero met him with a
fleet fully manned and equipped ; went from his own to the
admiral's ship, and after congratulating the consul on his safe
arrival with his army and his fleet, and praying that his passage
to Sicily might have a prosperous and successful issue, ex-
plained to him the state of the island and the aims of the
Carthaginians. He promised, too, that now in his old age he
would help-the Roman people with as willing a heart as he had •
done in his youth in the former war. Corn and clothing for
the consul's legions and for the seamen he would provide
free of cost, and he added that there was the greatest danger
hanging over Lilybasum and the cities on the coast, and that
some would welcome a revolution. Hearing this the consul
thought that he ought without a moment's delay to proceed with
his fleet to Lilybzeum The king and the ro\al fleet started
with him. During the voyage from Messana they heard of the
battle off Lilybaeum, and of the rout and capture of the enemy's
ships,

51. From Lilybasum the consul, dismissing Hiero and the
royal fleet and leaving the praetor to guard the coasts of Sicily,
crossed over himself to the island of Melita,* then in the
possession of the Carthaginians. On his approach, Hamilcar,
son of Gisgo, the commander of the garrison, surrendered him-
self, with nearly two thousand troops, the town and the island.
A few days afterwards the consul returned from Messana to
Lilybaeum, and the prisoners taken both by him and the consul
(were sold by auction, such as were distinguished by noble birth
being excepted. When he thought that Sicily was safe enough on
[this side, he crossed to the islands of Vulcan,t as report said that
the Carthaginian fleet was moored there. Not a man, however, of
jthe enemy was found near the islands, for it so happened that
they had sailed away to ravage the shores of Italy, where they
had wasted the territory round Vibo and were also threatening
:hat city. As the consul was returning to Sicily, this raid of
:he enemy into the territory of Vibo was reported to him, and
:here was also handed to him a despatch from the Senate
elling of Hannibal's passage into Italy, and bidding him on
he very first opportunity render aid to his colleague.

BOOK XXI..,

King Hiero
Promises aid to
the Romatis.

Surrender 0/

Malta to
Sempronius.

* Malta.

t The Lipari.

50 LIVY.

EOOK XXI. Harassed by a combination of many anxieties, he at once put
his troops on shipboard and sent them up the Adriatic to
Ariminum, while to his lieutenant Sextus Pompeius he assigned
the defence of the country round Vibo and of the shores of
Italy with five-and-twenty warships. He made up the fleet of
Marcus ^milius, the prjetor, to fifty vessels. As soon as he
had settled the affairs of Sicily, he went in person, cruising

He returns to ^^°"S ^^^ Italian coast, with ten ships to Ariminum. Thence
Italy, and joins he Set out with his army for the river Trebia and joined his

his col'cague on

the Trebia. COUeagUe.

52. Both consuls and all the available strength of
Rome were now opposed to Hannibal, a plain proof that
either the Roman empire could be defended by these forces
or that no other troops remained. Still one of the consuls,
disheartened by a single cavalry action and the wound he
had received, wished to defer battle. The other, whose courage
was unbroken and spirits high, would not brook delay.

The country between the Trebia and the Po was then inhabited
by the Gauls, wlio during this struggle between two over
whelmingly powerful nations showed no decided bias, and had
an eye undoubtedly to the favour of the conqueror. Provid
only they remained quiet, the Romans were well satisfied, b
the Carthaginians were gi'eatly mortified, repeatedly declari
that they had come at the invitation of the Gauls to set the:
free. Resentment, and the wish to support their soldiers oj
the plunder, suggested the sending of five thousand infant
and a thousand horse, Numidians for the most part, with so;
Gauls interspersed among them, to lay waste the whole country
district after district as far as the banks of the Po. In their son
need of help the Gauls, though hitherto they had maintained ai
undecided attitude, were driven to turn from the authors of thi
wrong to those who would, they hoped, avenge it. They sen
envoys to the. consul, imploring Roman aid for a country suffer
ing grievously from the too faithful loyalty of its inhabitants
Neither the ground nor the occasion for interference approve
itself to Cornelius, and he suspected the nation for its many ac
of faithlessness, but above all, if other memories had faded in ?
forgotten past, for the recent treachery of the Boii. Semproniu |
on the contrary, held that the defence of the first who need«f

LIVY. 51

succour -was the surest bond for the preservatioa of the loyalty book xxi.

of the allies. While his colleague hesitated, he sent his own

cavalry with a thousand infantry attached to it, almost all light- Cavalry

armed, to protect the territory of the Gauls beyond the Trebia. ' '""" '"

Suddenly attacking the dispersed and disorderly pillagers, who

were also for the most part encumbered with booty, they caused

an intense panic, slaying them and driving them before them

to their camp and .out-posts. Driven back by the numbers that

Isallied forth, they renewed the fight when reinforced by their

own men. With varying fortune of battle they pursued and

retired, and left the action undecided at last. But the enemy's

oss was the heavier, and the honour of victory rested with the

Romans.

53. No one, indeed, thought their success greater and more Sempronius is

:omplete than the consul himself. He was transported with joy . " *"

it having been victorious with the very arm, the cavalry, with

vhich the other consul had been beaten. The spirits of the

soldiers, he was sure, were restored and revived, and no one but

kis colleague wished to defer the action, and he, ailing as he

ras, more in mind than body, shrank from battle and the steel,

s he thought of his wound. But they must not let themselves

ink into a sick man's languor. What good was there in further

elay and waste of time .'' Where is the third consul and the

liird army we are waiting for.f* The Carthaginian camp is in

taly, almost within sight of Rome. It is not Sicily or Sardinia,

llready lost to the conquered, it is not Spain this side of the

Ibro which is threatened ; it is from their native soil, from the

md in which they were born, that the Romans are to be driven.

What a sigh," he exclaimed, " would our fathers heave, they

\\ ho were wont to fight round the walls of Carthage, were they

to see us, their offspring, two consuls and two consular armies

cowering within their camp in the heart of Italy, while the

Carthaginian has brought under his sway all the country

between the Alps and the Apennines ? " Such was the language,

ehement almost as a popular harangue, which he would

our forth as he sat by his ailing comrade, or in the head-

^ariers. He was goaded on too by the near approach of the

(ections, and by the fear that the war, with its opportunity of

bcuring all the glory for himself, while his colleague was

E 2

52

LIVY.

BOOK XXI. disabled, would be postponed till new consuls came into
office. Accordingly he bade the soldiers prepare for the coming
battle, while Cornelius in vain dissented.
Preparations of Hannibal, Seeing clearly what was best for his foe, had
Hannibal. h.-^rdly a hopc that the consuls would act at all rashly or
imprudently. But now being well aware that the temper of one
of them, as he knew at first by report, and subsequently by ex-
perience, was impetuous and headstrong, and surmising that it
was the more so after the successful skirmish with his pillaging
parties, he felt sure that the happy opportunity for action was at
hand. Anxiously and intently did he watch not to let the
moment slip, while the enemy's soldiery were raw recruits, while
the better of the generals was disabled by his wound, and while
the courage of the Gauls was in its freshness. Their numerous
host, he knew, would follow him with less alacrity the further
they were dragged from their homes. For these, and like,
reasons, he hoped the battle was at hand, and he was eager tOj
force it, if there was any hesitation. When the Gauls who acted
as his spies (as Gauls were serving in both camps, these coulc
be most safely employed to give the knowledge he desired"
had brought back word that the Romans were ready for battle
he proceeded to look out a position for an ambuscade.

Jif reconnoitres 54- Between the armies was a stream closed in by very hii
thi- ground and banks, and by an overgrowth on either side of marshy grass, ai

J>ojts an amlmsli. ' ^ " j , J

of the underwood and bramble-bushes that usually spread thei|
selves over uncultivated ground. Hannibal himself rode rou
the place and saw with his own eyes that it afforded am;
cover for the concealment even of cavalry. " This," said he
his brother Mago, "will be the spot for you to occupy. Pi
" out a hundred men from our entire infantry, and as many frot
" the cavalry, and come with them to me in the first watch of tl
" night ; now it is time to refresh yourselves.' So saying, I
dismissed his staff. Mago soon arrived with his picked me
" I see before me," said Hannibal, "a band of heroes; b
" that you may be strong in numbers as well as in couraf
" choose each of you nine men like himself from the squadro
" and the companies. Mago will show you the place where y-
" are to lie hid ; you have an enemy blind to these stratagems
" war." Having then dismissed Mago with his thousand

l!

LIVY. 53

and thousand foot, Hannibal at dawn ordered his Numidian book xxi.

cavalry to cross the Trebia and ride up to the gates of the

enemy's camp. There by discharging missiles at the sentries

they were to lure the enemy to an engagement, and then, the

battle once commenced, gradually to draw him after them to

their side of the river. Such were his orders to the Numidians.

The other infantry, and cavalry officers were directed to see that

ill the men had a meal, and then to await the signal, armed,

md with horses saddled.

Eager for battle, for his purpose was already fixed, Sem- TheKomans
Jronius, on the first alarm caused by the Numidians, led '^^"Z a'bittfrfj'^
)ut the whole of his cavalry, the arm in which he had peculiar cold day.
:onfidence, then six thousand infantry, and at last his entire
.rmy. It happened to be winter, and a snowy day ; the region,
00, lies between the Alps and the Apennines, and the neighbour-
jiood of rivers and marshes renders it intensely cold. And then
[s the men and the horses had to be hurriedly marched out
without a previous meal, and with no protection against the cold,
liere was no warmth in them, and as they approached the river,
lore and more piercingly did the frosty air blow in their faces.
ls soon as they plunged into the water in pursuit of the retreat-
ig Numidians (and it was breast high from having been
wollen by rain in the night) their limbs grew stiffer and stiffer,
o that when they stepped out of it, they had hardly strength
) grasp their weapons, and grew faint from fatigue and from
unger also as the day wore on.

55. Hannibal's soldiers meanwhile had had fires lit before
leir tents ; oil was distributed among the companies with which
) make their limbs supple, and they had enjoyed a leisurely meal,
s soon as the news came that the enemy had crossed the river,
ley armed themselves and marched out to battle in full vigour of
»rt and frame. His Baliaric slingers, all light-armed, Hannibal
isted in front of the standards, to the number of about eight
lousand, ne.xt his heavy-armed infantry — the strength and stay
j his army. His flanks he covered with ten thousand cavalry, .
lid placed his elephants in two divisions on either flank.
The consul, seeing that his cavalry were pursuing in loose
er and were confronted unexpectedly by a sudden resistance
m the Numidians, gave the signal for retreat, recalled his

W

54

LIVV.

BOOK XXI.

T!ie battle.

men, and received them within his infantry. Of Romans there
were eighteen thousand ; of the Latin alHes, twenty thousand,
and some auxiliaries of the Cenomani, the only GaUic tribe
which had stood firm to its loyalty. Such were the forces which
met in action. The slingers began the battle, but as they were
encountered by the superior strength of the infantry, these light
troops were suddenly withdrawn to the wings, the result being that
the Roman cavalry was at once hard pressed. Even before, four
thousand troopers could by themselves barely hold their ground
against ten thousand, most of whom were fresh while they were
fatigued, and now they were overwhelmed, so to say, by a cloud
of missiles from the Baliares. Then, too, the elephants, tower-
ing conspicuously as they did on the flanks, and scaring the
horses by their appearance and above all by their strange
smell, caused widespread panic. The contending infantry were
well matched as to courage but not as to physical strength,
which indeed the Carthaginians, who had just refreshed them-
selves, had brought in full vigour into the battle. The Romans,
on the other hand, had hungry, weary frames, stiff and be-
numbed with cold. Still their courage would have held out, had
they had to fight only with infantry. But the Baliares, aft
driving back the cavalry, kept up a discharge of missiles on thj
Roman flanks, and the elephants had now thrown themselv
into the midst of the infantry, while Mago and his Numidian
the moment the army had unawares passed their ambusl
started up in the rear, spreading terrible confusion and pani
Yet with all these horrors around them, the ranks stood fin
some time, even against the elephants, very much against al
expectation. Some light-armed troops, posted for the purposej
drove them off with showers of darts, then pursued them, anO
as they turned their backs, stabbed them under their tails, wher«
they can receive wounds, as the skin is particularly soft.

56. In their confusion they were beginning to rush wildly a
their own men, when Hannibal ordered them to be driven fronj
the centre to the extreme left « against the Gallic auxiliaries'
Among these they created at once a very decided panic, and fresl ;
fear fell on the Romans as ?oon as they saw their auxiliarie <
routed. They now stood fighting in square, when nearly te:
thousand men, having no other way of escape, broke throug

LIVY. 55

the centre of the African troops, where this had been strength- book xxi.

ened by some Gallic auxiliaries, making great slaughter among

the enemy. Cut off by the river from return into their camp,

and not being able to see for the rain where they could help

their comrades, they marched straight to Placentia. Then fol- Total d.-f.-at cf

lowed rush after rush in all directions ; some made for the river ' ^"""'" ■

and were swept away in its eddies, or were cut down by the

enemy as they hesitated to plunge into the stream. Such as

were dispersed in flight over the country followed the track of

the main body in its retreat, and made for Placentia. Others

there were to whom dread of the enemy gave courage to plunge

into the river, which they crossed, and arrived at the camp. A , a*''

storm of mingled rain and snow with an unendurable intensity A*kX^^'»

cf cold destroyed many of the men and of the beasts of burden, '

and almost all the elephants.

The Trcbia was the final Hmit of the Carthaginian pursuit.
JThey returned to their camp so benumbed with cold that they
hardly felt the joy of victory. Consequently on the next night,
when the camp garrison and the other survivors, mainly wounded
men, crossed the Trebia on rafts, they either perceived nothing^ ■A^-*''**^tiLi..
or, not being able to move from fatigue and wounds, they pre- /t^'^^^''*'^ ,-
(tended to perceive nothing. Thus, unmolested by the Cartha-
ginians, the consul Scipio marched his army in perfect quiet to Sc//ia retires on
Placentia, whence he crossed the Po to Cremona, that a single """' '"'
:olony might be spared the burden of two armies in winter
:iuarters.

57. At Rome such a panic followed on this disaster that
seople imagined that the enemy would at once appear before
he city in battle array, and that there was no hope, or any
ncans of repelling his attack from their walls and gates —
I'V' consul having been beaten at the Ticinus, the other having
1 recalled from Sicily ; and now, with two consuls and two
consular armies defeated, what other generals or legions had
hey to summon to the rescue ? In the midst of their alarm the
:onsul Sempronius arrived. At great risk he had made his way Arrivalof
hrough the enemy's cavalry, who were scouring the country for avw"." "
)lunder, relying on audacity rather than on skill or any hope of
:luding them or chance, should he fail to elude, of successful
esistance. The one thing which at the moment was felt to be

S6

LIVY.

BOOK XXI.

He holds the
elections.

Hannibal fails

if I an ^i I tack on

Emporium.

VictiDnviie
surrenders.

most important, he did ; he held the elections for consuls, and
then went back to his winter camp. Cneius Servilius and Caius
Flaminius were appointed consuls.

Meanwhile there was no peace or rest for the Romans, even in
their winter camp. Everywhere the Numidian cavalry scoured
the country, or where the ground was too difficult for them, the
Celtiberi and Lusitani. Consequently, all supplies were cut
off, except such as were brought up the Po by vessels.
Near Placentia stood Emporium ; the place had been fortified
with great labour, and was held by a strong garrison. In the
hope of storming the fortress Hannibal set out with some cavalry
and light-armed troops. It was in the concealment of his design
that he mainly rested his confidence of success, but though he
attacked by night, he was not unperceived by the sentries. A
shout was instantly raised, so loud as to be heard at Placentia.
At daybreak the consul was on the spot with his cavalry, his
legions having had orders to follow in fighting order. Meantime
a cavalry action was fought, in which a panic seized the enemy,
because Hannibal left the field wounded, and so the position was.
brilliantly defended.

Thence, after a few days' rest, before his wound was thorough!}
cured, Hannibal marched on Victumviae to attack the place. It
had been fortified by the Romans as a magazine-d^pot during
the Gallic war, and a mixed multitude had flocked to it from al)
the neighbouring tribes. Many more had now been driveu
into it out of the rural districts by fear of the enemy's ravages,
It was a gathering thus composed that, with hearts kindled
by the report of the brave defence of the fort near Placentia
flew to arms, and went forth to meet Hannibal. More likl
a crowd than an army, they encountered him on his marcl
and as on one side there was nothing but a disorderly thror
while on the other was a general who trusted his soldie
and soldiers who trusted their general, upwards of thirty-fi^
thousand were routed by a handful of men. Next day there w^
a surrender, and a garrison was admitted within the walls. Tl
moment they obeyed the order to give up their amis, tl
conquerors received a signal to plunder the town, as if tM
had stormed it, and not a dreadful deed, which under such c^
cumstances historians usually think worthy of note, was le

LIVY. 57

unperpetrated. Every kind of outrage that lust, cruelty, and book xxi.
brutal insolence could suggest was practised on the miserable
inhabitants. Such were Hannibal's winter expeditions.

58. For a brief space, while the cold was intolerable, the
soldiers were allowed rest. At the first dubious signs of spring
Hannibal quitted his winter quarters, and led them into Etruria
with the design of attaching that people to himself, by force or
by persuasion, as he had attached the Gauls and Ligurians. \yhile Hannibal
he was crossing the Apennines, he was assailed by a tempest so "'"kcApcnniti^s^,
Ifierce that it almost exceeded the horrors of the Alps. A storm of , '^"'," driven

' back by a violent

wind and rain was driving straight into the men's faces. At first storm.

they halted, as they had either to drop their weapons, or, if they

still struggled on against it, were caught by the whirlwind and

dashed to the earth. Then finding that it actually stopped their

jbreath and prevented respiration, they sat down for a few mo-

Iments with their backs to the wind. And now the whole heaven

iresounded with awful rumblings, and amid terrific peals flashed

put the lightnings. Blinded and deafened, all stood numb with

ear, till at last, as the rain was exhausted and the fury of the

ale became in consequence the more intense, it seemed a

ecessity to encamp on the spot where they were thus overtaken.

This indeed Avas, as it were, to begin their toils anew, for they

bould unfurl nothing and fix nothing, or what they had fixed did

lot keep its place, everything being rent and swept away by

he wind. Soon the moisture which the air held aloft, froze in

;he cold of the mountain heights, and discharged such a shower

)f snow and hail, that the men, ceasing all effort, threw themselves

o the earth, buried under their coverings rather than protected

3y them. Then followed a frost so intense that any one who in

his miserable wreck of men and beasts sought to raise and

ift himself was long unable to do so ; his sinews were paralysed

vith cold so that he could hardly bend his limbs. After a while

hey began at last to stir themselves into movement and to

ecover their spirits ; here and there a few fires were lit, and the

jitterly helpless sought relief from their comrades. Two days

(hey lingered on the spot, like a besieged garrison. Many beasts

j)f burden, and seven too of the elephants which had survived the

battle on the Trebia, perished.

59. Descending from the Apennines Hannibal moved his

5S LIVY.

BOOK XX f, camp back towards Placentia, halting after an advance of about
He fights an ten miles. NexL day he marched against the enemy with twelve
u^thTcmpl-miius thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry, and Sempronius,
nea7- Piaccntia. who by this time had returned from Rome, did not refuse battle.
That day the two camps were separated by an interval of three
miles ; on the morrow the armies fought with the greatest
courage, the result being doubtful. At the first onset the arms
of Home were so superior as not only to prevail in the field but
even to drive the routed enemy to his camp, which itself they
attacked. Hannibal, after posting a few defenders on the
ramparts and at the camp gates, retired the rest of his troops in
close order into the centre of his camp, bidding them attentively
await the signal for a sortie. It was now about the ninth hour
of the day, and the Roma:n general, whose men had wearied
themselves in vain, seeing that there was no hope of taking the
camp, gave the signal for retreat. When Hannibal knew this,
and saw that the attack had slackened and that retreat had com.
mcnced, he hurled his cavalry right and left against the enemy
and sallied in person from the centre of his camp with the whol*
strength of his infantry. Seldom had there been a fiercer fight
and the destruction of one army would have rendered it mc
memorable had the light allowed it to have been considerab
prolonged. Night however abruptly terminated an acti<
begun with prodigious ardour. The slaughter was consequent
less terrible than the fighting, and as the success was almc
evenly balanced, the two sides quitted the field with equal los
No more than s'x hundred infantry and half as many caval|
fell on either side, but the Roman loss was out of proportion ;
their numbers, for several men of equestrian rank, five militai
tribunes, and three commanding officers of the allies, were slaii
Immediately after the battle Hannibal retired to Liguri
Sempronius to Luca. As Hannibal was on his way to Ligui
two Roman quaestors, Caius Fulvius and Lucius Lucretius, wl
had been treacherously intercepted, along with two militaij
tribunes and five men of equestrian rank, nearly all sons
Senators, were surrendered to him, that he might have a betti
assurance of a secure peace and alliance with the Ligurians.

60. During these events in Italy, Cneius Cornelius Scip
had been despatched with a fleet and an army to Spain. Startit

Sfiaht.

LIVV. 59

from the mouth of the Rhone he sailed round the Pyrenees and book xxi.

brought his ships to anchor at Emporiae * ; there he disembarked » Ampurias.

his army, and beginning with the Lacetani, while he renewed

old as well as formed new alliances, he brought under Roman operations of

dominion the entire coast as far as the river Ebro. The "^'"siahl.'" '"

character for clemency thus acquired spread not only among

the maritime population, but even to the wilder tribes in the

interior and among the mountains. With these he secured not

simply peace, but also an armed alliance, and some strong auxiliary

cohorts were levied from among them. Hanno's province was

on this side the Ebro. He had been left by Hannibal to defend

this district. Feeling that he must meet the danger before the

whole country was lost, he encamped within sight of the enemy

and led out his men for battle. The Roman too thought that

there ought to be no delay about fighting, for he knew that he

would have to encounter Hannoand Hasdrubal, and he preferred

to deal with them separately rather than united. Nor did the

battle prove a severe contest. Six thousand of the enemy were

slain and two thousand captured with the camp garrison ; for both

the camp was stormed and the general himself made prisoner

with several of his chief officers. Cissis, a town near the camp,

was also stormed. The spoil of this place indeed consisted of

things of small value, rude household furniture andsome worthless

slaves. The camp really enriched the soldiers. It was the

camp not of the defeated army alone, but also of that which was

now serving with Hannibal in Italy, almost everything of value

having been left on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, that his

troops on their march might have no burdensome baggage.

6i. Before any certain tidings of this defeat had reached him,
Hasdrubal had crossed the Ebro with eight thousand infantry
and a thousand cavalry, jneaning, it seemed, to oppose the
Romans immediately on their arrival. But when he heard of
the ruinous disaster at Cissis and the loss of the camp, he
directed his march towards the sea. In the neighbourhood of
Tarraco our marines and seamen were roaming all over the
[Country, success as usual producing carelessness. Sending out
jhis cavalry far and wide, Hasdrubal drove them to their ships with
great slaughter and yet greater panic. But not daring to linger
|in the neighbourhood, lest Scipio should swoop down on him, he

6o

LIVY.

BOOK XXI, retired to the further side of the Ebro. Scipio too, who, on
the rumour of a new enemy, had advanced by forced marches,
after executing a few of the captains of the ships and leav-
ing a moderate garrison at Tarraco, returned with his fleet
to Emporias. Almost instantly on his departure Hasdrubal
appeared, stirred to revolt the Ilergetes, who had given hostages
to Scipio, and, taking with him the youth of that tribe,' ravaged
the lands of the allies who remained loyal to Rome. This
roused Scipio from his winter quarters, and Hasdrubal again
withdrew from the whole country on this side of the Ebro.
Scipio marched his army to the tribe of the Ilergetes, now
abandoned by the instigator of their revolt. Having driven them
all into Atanagrum, their principal town, he besieged the place,
and within a few days received them under the protection and
jurisdiction of Rome, while fining them in money and exacting
more hostages than before.

He next entered the territory of the Ausetani, near the
Ebro, themselves also allies of the Carthaginians. He be-
sieged their capital, and when the Laeetani were marching
by night to help their neighbours, he intercepted them by an
ambuscade near the town which they were about .to enter.
Upwards of twelve thousand were slain ; nearly all the survivors
stripped themselves of their arms and fled to their homes, after
wandering hither and thither through the country. As for the ■
besieged, their sole defence was the bad weather, which much emJ
barrassed their assailants. The siege lasted thirty days, during
which the snow lay on the ground to a depth of seldom les
than four feet, and it had so completely buried the Romaij
siege-works and mantlets that of itself alone it was a protectioE
against the fiery missiles discharged from time to time by the
enemy. At last their chief, Amusicus, having made his escapfl
to Hasdrubal, they surrendered, agreeing to make a payment
twenty silver talents. The army returned into its winte?!
quarters at Tarraco.

62. At Rome, or in the neighbourhood, many portents
occurred that winter, or, as often happens, when once men's
minds are affected by religious fears, many were reported ancj
thoughtlessly believed. These, among others, were related
a child, six months old, of free-born parents, had shoutet

portents.

LIVY. 6i

" triumph ; " in the cattle-market an ox mounted of its own BOOK XXI.
accord to a third story, from which it threw itself, in alarm at
the commotion of the inhabitants ; phantom ships had been
seen glittering in the sky ; the temple of Hope in the vegetable
market had been struck by lightning ; at Lanuvium a spear
had moved of itself; a crow had flown down on the temple
of Juno, and perched on the very shrine of the goddess ; at
several places in the country round Amiternum had been seen
figures like men in white clothing, whom, however, nobody
actually met ; in Picenum there had been a shower of stones,
at Caere the sacred tablets had shrunk, and in Gaul a wolf had
carried off a sentry's sword, first pulling it out of its sheath.
As to the other portents, the College of the Ten were bidden
to consult the sacred books, but for the shower of stones at
Picenum a holy feast of nine days was proclaimed, and then, Kfi^gums
for the expiation of others, almost all the citizens busied them- "''"'^yZZry"^
selves with sacrifices. First of all, the city was purified, and offeriii^s.
victims of the larger sort were offered to such deities as the
sacred books directed. An offering of forty pounds' weight of
gold was conveyed to Lanuvium for Juno, and a bronze statue
was also dedicated by the married women to Juno of the Aventine.
I At Caere, where the sacred tablets had shrunk, orders were
j given for a festival of the gods, and on Mount Algidus there
[were to be public prayers to Fortune. At Rome, too, there
was a sacred feast for the youth and a litany at the
temple of Hercules, which was specially named, and the same
for all the citizens at all the prescribed shrines. To the
Guardian Spirit of the city were sacrificed five victims of the
larger sort, and the prnetor, Caius Alilius Soranus, was directed
to vow certain offerings, should the State continue in its
present position for ten years. These ceremonies and vows,
performed in obedience to the Sibylline books, greatly relieved
men's minds of their religious fears.

63. One of the consuls-elect, Flaminius, to whom the lot
jhad given command of the legions in winter quarters at
jPlacentia, sent orders by a despatch to the consul there that
jthese troops were to be in camp at Ariminum on the fifteenth of
March. It was his intention to enter on his consulship in his
jprovince, for he well remembered his old quarrels with the

62

LIVY.

BOOK xxr.

Flaminitis

leaves Rome

secretly for his

province.

Senate, first when he was tribune, then when he was consul and
they sought to deprive him of his consulship, lastly when his
Triumph was refused. He was hated, too, by the Senators, in
consequence of an unprecedented bill which Ouintus Claudius,
as tribune, had introduced in defiance of the Senate by the
support of Flaminius alone among its members. The bill for-
bade any Senator or Senator's son to possess a sea-going vessel
of more than three hundred amphoras' burden. This was
thought sufficient for the conveyance of produce from their
estates, all trade-profit being regarded as discreditable for a
Senator. The matter was discussed in a very sharp debate, and
had earned for him, as the supporter of the bill, much dislike
from the nobiUty, while it gave him popularity with the Commons
and thereby a second consulship. Thinking, therefore, that they
would detain him at Rome by falsifying the auspices, by delays
arising out of the Latin festival, and other hindrances in a
consul's way, he left on a pretended journey, and went away
secretly as a private citizen to his province.

As soon as this was made public, it stirred fresh wrath in the
already angry Senators. " Flaminius," they said, " is now
' making war not only on the Senate, but even on the immortal
' gods. When he was previously elected consul without due
' auspices, and we recalled him from the field of battle, he was
' disobedient both to God and man. Now, conscious of having
' despised them, he has fled away from the Capitol and the
' sacred recital of the usual vows. He is unwilling on his day
' of taking office to approach the temple of Jupiter Optimus
' Maximus, to see and consult the Senate which hates him, an^
' which he alone of their members himself hates, to proclaim ti
' Latin festival and offer on the mount the customary sacrifi
' to Jupiter Latialis, to go with due auspices to the Capitol
' recite the vows, and thence to his province in his general
' cloak with lictors about him. He has left Rome like a cam]
' follower, with no official badge, without a lictor, secretl;
* stealthily, just as if he were quitting his country to become
' exile. He supposes doubtless that it is more consistent wii
' the dignity of the empire for him to enter on his office
' Ariminum than at Rome, and to assume his official robe
' some wayside inn rather than before his own hearth."

^

LIVY.

63

BOOK XXL

Attempt io
recall hint.

All maintained that he ought to be recalled, nay, even
dragged back, and forced to perform in person every duty
owing to God and man before he went to the army in his
province. It was decided to despatch envoys ; but the men
sent on this errand, Quintus Terentius and Marcus Antistius,
had no more effect on him than had the despatches of the
Senate in his previous consulship. He entered on his office in
the course of a few days. A calf which he was offering, and
which was already wounded, broke loose from the grasp of the
sacrificing priests, sprinkling several of the bystanders with its
blood. At a distance from the altar, where no one knew what
caused the commotion, there was still greater panic and excite-
ment. It was regarded by many as an omen of very fearful
import. Flaminius then received two legions from Sempronius,
the consul of the previous year, and two more from Caius Atilius, He marches
the praetor, and began to lead his army through the passes of ^'^^^ Etmria.
the Apennines into Etruria.

quarters.

BOOK XXII.

B.C. 217, 216.

BOOK XXII. !• It was nearly spring when Hannibal moved out of his

Hannibal nt j . ^^'"'^tcr quarters. He had before attempted to cross the Apennines,
out of his winter \)\xi\\\ys}^x\.,%o intolerable was the cold; and his sojourn had
been prolonged amidst extreme peril and apprehension. The
Gauls had been attracted by the hope of spoil and rapine ; but
when they found that instead of their plundering their neigh-
bours, their own country was made the battle-field, and that
it was burdened by the winter quarters of the two armies
they transferred their hatred from the Romans to Hannib;
Again and again plots were hatched by the chiefs against h:
life ; again and again he was saved by their treachery to ea
other, while they revealed their conspiracies with the sa
levity with which they had conspired. He would also chan
now his dress, now his wig, and found protection in thus confui
ing his assailants. However, these fears were another reas^
for his early movement out of winter quarters.
Anxiety at About the Same time, on the fifteenth of March, the consu]

Cneius Servilius, entered on his office at Rome. When he sub
mitted to the Senate his proposals for the year, their angry feelii^
against Caius Flaminius broke out afresh. " We have made twi
" consuls," they exclaim.ed, *"' but we have only one. What lega
" authority, what religious sanction does this man possess ? It i
" from his home, from the hearth' of the State and of the family
" it is after keeping the Latin Feast, and sacrificing on the Alba
" Hill, and praying with all due solemnity,that the new magistral
" takes this sanction with him. No such sanction can atte:

Rome.

II

LIVY. 65

''private person ; the man who has started without it cannot book xxii.
"acquire it afresh in its fulness on a foreign soil."

These fears were increased by the tidings of marvels which More portents.
now came from many places at once. Some soldiers' spears in
Sicily had burst into a blaze ; so too in Sardinia had the staff
which an officer held in his hand as he went his rounds inspect-
ing the sentries on the wall ; two shields had sweated blood ;
certain soldiers had been struck by lightning ; there had been
seen an eclipse of the sun ; at Praeneste * blazing stones had * Palestrina.
[fallen from the sky ; at Arpi shields had been seen in the sky,
and the sun had seemed to fight with the moon ; at Capua two
nioons had risen in the day time ; the stream at Caere f had t Cervetri.
jflowed half blood ; gouts of blood had been seen on the water
ithat dripped from the spring of Hercules ; reapers in the fields
|near Antium + had seen the ears fall all bloody into the basket ; i Porto d'AnzD.
lat Falerii the sky had seemed parted by a huge cleft, while
[an overpowering light shone forth from the opening ; certain
JDracle tablets had spontaneously shrunk, and on one that fell out
Kvere the words "Mars shakes his spear"; at the same time,
jit Rome, sweat came out on the statue of Mars that stands in
the Appian Road by the images of the wolves ; at Capua the
Bky had seemed to be on fire, and a moon to fall in the midst
t)f a shower. Then men began to believe less solemn marvels.
5ome persons had had goats become sheep ; a hen had changed
nto a cock, and a cock into a hen. The consul gave the whole
tory at length, as it had been told him, at the same time intro-
lucing into the Senate those who vouched for it, and asked the
>pinion of the House on the religious aspect of the matter.

It was resolved that such expiation should be made as these Solemn religious
)ortents demanded, with victims, some of which should be full- '^^^'^""'«'"-
frown, some sucklings ; that public prayers should be offered
{luring three days at every shrine. Everything else was to be
[one after the College of the Ten had inspected the holy books
[1 such fashion as they might declare from the prophecies to be
leasing to the gods. They ordered that the first offering, of
old weighing fifty pounds, should be made to Jupiter, that to
unc and Minerva offerings of silver should be presented ;
hat full-grown victims should be sacrificed to Juno the Queen
n the Aventine Hill, and to Juno the Preserver at Lanuvium§ ; § Civitii Lavlnla.

F

66 ~ LIVY.

BOOK XXII. that the matrons, collecting a sum of money, as much as it might
be convenient for each to contribute, should carry it as an offering
to Juno the Queen on the Aventine ; that a religious feast should
be held, and that even the very freedwomen should raise con-
tiibutions according to their means for a gift to the goddess
Feronia. After all this the College of the Ten sacrificed full-
grown victims in the market-place at Ardea. Last of all, as late
as December, a sacrifice was made at the temple of Saturn in
Rome ; a religious feast was ordered (furnished by the Senators)
and a public banquet ; and a festival of Saturn to last a day
and a night proclaimed throughout Rome. This day the people
were enjoined to keep and observe as a holiday for ever.
Hannibal makes 2. While the consul was busy at Rome propitiating the gods
his way into ^^ ^^^ holding a levy, Hannibal, who had quitted his winter quarters,

the marshes of heard that the consul Flaminius had already reached Arretium.*
, Accordingly, though another route, longer indeed but more

convenient, was open to him, he took the nearer way across the
marshes of the Arno, which happened at the time to be more
flooded than usual. He arranged that the Spanish and African
soldiers, who were the whole strength of his veteran army, should
go first, taking in their columns their own baggage, that wher
•ever they might be compelled to halt, supplies might not fa
them;- the Gauls were to follow, occupying the middle of tl
line of march ; last were to come the cavalry ; after these Mag
with some light Numidian troopers was to close up the line, an
especially to keep the Gauls together, if, weary of the long an
toilsome march (and this is a thing which they are ill fitted t
endure), they began to straggle or halt. The first columns, whei

Miseries of the ever the guides led the way, through deep and almost bottomlei
march. pools of the river, nearly swallowed up in the mud and plungin]
into the water, still followed the standards. The Gauls could no)
recover their footing when they slipped, nor extricate themselveJ
from the pools ; without spirit to eke out their strength, withoui
hope to eke out their spirit, some just dragged along their wear]
limbs, others fainted in sheer despair and lay dying amid crowd|
of dying horses. Of all things it was the want of sleep, and this
they had to endure for four days and three nights, that mos
exhausted them. The floods were everywhere, and not a spot o
dry ground could be found where they might rest their wear;

LIVY.

67

Position 0/ the
Roman army.

bodies. They could just pile up the baggage in the water and he BOOK xxii

down on the top ; or the heaps of horses that had perished all

along the line of march just stood out of the water and supplied

the necessary place where they might snatch a few moments,

repose. Hannibal himself, whose eyes suffered from the trying

weather of the spring, with its great variations of heat and cold,

rode on the one elephant which was left, that he might be as

high as possible above the water. But long watches, together

with the damps of night and the moist cUmate, affected his

head ; there was no place or time for the application of

remedies, and he lost one of his eyes.

3. At last he struggled out of the marshes, after losing
amid horrible misery a multitude of men and horses, and
pitched his camp on the first spot of dry ground that he reached.
Here he learnt from the scouts whom he had sent forward, that
the Roman army lay round the walls of Arretium. P'rom that
time he continued to acquaint himself by the most diligent
inquiry with all particulars, the consul's plans, his temper, the
j geography of the country, his movements, his facilities for
I procuring supplies, everything in fact which it might serve him
to know. The district was one of the most fertile in Italy, the
Etrurian plain lying between Fassulae and Arretium, a country
rich in corn and cattle and all kinds of wealth.

Flaminius, full of the fierce memories of his first consulship,
stood in little awe not merely of the laws and of the dignity of
the Senators, but even of the gods. The good fortune which
had given him success at home and in the field, had fostered
this natural recklessness. It was plain, then, that one who was
equally careless of God and man would be utterly rash and
headstrong. That he might yield the sooner to his special
failings, the Carthaginian general laid his plans to harass and
provoke him. He marched on Faesulae, leaving his enemy on
|the left, made his way, plundering as he went, through the heart
if Etruria, and making the consul behold from afar all the
ievastation which fire and sword could possibly spread.

Flaminius, who had the enemy sat still would not have sat
;till himself, now saw the possessions of the allies pillaged
almost under his eyes, and regarded it as a personal disgrace that
the Carthaginian chief should rove at his will through the very

1 F 2

Rashness oj
Flaminius.

LIVY,

He gives the

order for an

advance.

BOOK XXII. heart of Italy and march unopposed to assault the very walls
of Rome. Every other voice in the council of virar was raised
for a policy of safety rather than of display. "Wait for your
" colleague," they said ; " when your armies are united, you may
" conduct your campaign on one common purpose and plan ;
" meanwhile the cavalry and the light-armed auxiliaries must
" check the enemy in their wild license of plunder."

Full of fury, Flaminius rushed out of the council. He ordered
the trumpets to give the signal for march and battle, crying, " We
"are to sit, I suppose, before the walls of Arretium, because our
" country and our home are here. Hannibal we let slip out of our
"hands, and let him ravage Italy and plunder and approach the
" very walls of Rome, but we are not to move hence till the Senate
" send to Arretium for Flaminius, just as in old days they sent
" to Veil for Camillus." With these fierce words on his lips he
ordered the standard to be pulled out of the ground with all
haste, and himself leapt upon his horse, when lo ! in a moment
the horse fell, throwing the consul over his head. Amid the
terror of all who stood near— for this was an ill omen for the
beginning of a campaign — came a message to say that the
standard could not be wrenched from the ground, though the
standard-bearer had exerted all his strength. Turning to the
messenger, the consul said, " Perhaps you bring me a despatch
"from the Senate, forbidding me to fight. Go, tell them to dig
" the standard out, if their hands are so numb with fear that they
" cannot wrench it up." The army then began its march. The
superior officers, not to speak of their having dissented from the
plan, were alarmed by these two portents ; the soldiers generally
were delighted with their headstrong chief. Full of confidence,
they thought little on what their confidence was founded.

4. Hannibal devastated with all the horrors of war thi
country between Cortona and Lake Trasumennus, seeking t
infuriate the Romans into avenging the sufferings of their alliei
They had now reached a spot made for an ambuscade, where thi
lake comes up close under the hills of Cortona. Between them ii
nothing but a very narrow road, for which room seems to hav
been purposely left. Further on is some comparatively broa
Hannibal's level ground. From this rise the hills, and here in the openj
disposiuonof his plain Hannibal pitched a camp for himself and his African andl

LIVY.

69

Spanish troops only ; his slingers and other light-armed troops BOOK xxil
he marched to the rear of the hills ; his cavalry he stationed at
the mouth of the defile, behind some rising ground which con-
veniently sheltered them. When the Romans had once entered
the pass and the cavalry had barred the way, all would be
hemmed in by the lake and the hills.

Flaminius had reached the lake at sunset the day before. Cn
the morrow, without reconnoitring and while the light was still
uncertain, he traversed the narrow pass. As his army began to
deploy into the widening plain, he could see only that part of
the enemy's force which was in front of him ; he knew nothing
of the ambuscade in his rear and above his head. The Car-
thaginian saw his wish accomplished. He had his enemy
shut in by the lake and the hills and surrounded by his own
troops. He gave the signal for a general charge, and the
attacking columns flung themselves on the nearest points. To
the Romans the attack was all the more sudden and unexpected
because the mist from the lake lay thicker on the plains than on
the heights, while the hostile columns on the various hills had
been quite visible to each other and had therefore advanced in
concert. As for the Romans, with the shout of battle rising
all round them, before they could see plainly, they found them-
selves surrounded, and fighting begun in their front and their
flanks before they could form in order, get ready their arms, or
draw their swords.

S. Amidst universal panic the consul showed all the courage
that could be expected in circumstances so alarming. The broken
ranks, in which every one was turning to catch the discordant
shouts, he re-formed as well as time and place permitted, and, as
far as his presence or his voice could reach, bade his men stand
their ground and fight. " It is not by prayers," he cried, " or
" entreaties to the gods, but by strength and courage that you
" must win your way out. The sword cuts a path through the
" midst of the battle ; and the less fear, there for the most part
" the less danger." But, such was the uproar and confusion,
neither encouragements nor commands could be heard ; so far
were the men from knowing their standards, their ranks, or
jtheir places, that they had scarcely presence of mind to snatch
up their arms and address them to the fight, and some found

Destruction of
the Roman

70 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. them an overwhelming burden rather than a protection. So
dense too was the mist that tlie ear was of more service than the
eye. The groans of the wounded, the sound of blows on body
or armour, the mingled shouts of triumph or panic, made them
turn this way and that an eager gaze. Some would rush in
their flight on a dense knot of combatants and become entangled
in the mass ; others returning to the battle would be carried
away by the crowd of fugitives. But after a while, when
charges had been vainly tried in every direction, when it was
seen that the hills and the lake shut them in on either side,
and the hostile lines in front and rear, when it was manifest
that the only hope of safety lay in their own right hands and
swords, then every man began to look to himself for guid-
ance and for encouragement, and there began afresh what was
indeed a new battle. No battle was it with its three ranks
of combatants, its vanguard before the standards and its second
line fighting behind them, with every soldier in his own legion,
cohort, or company : chance massed them together, and each
man's impulse assigned him his post, whether in the van or
rear. So fierce was their excitement, so intent were they on
the battle, that not one of the combatants felt the earthquake
which laid whole quarters of many Italian cities in ruins,
changed the channels of rapid streams, drove the sea far up
into rivers, and brought down enormous landslips from the
hills.

6. For nearly three hours they fought, fiercely everywhere,
but with especial rage and fury round the consul. It was to
him that the flower of the army attached themselves. He, wher-
ever he found his troops pressed hard or distressed, was indefatig-
able in giving help ; conspicuous in his splendid arms, the enemy
assailed and his fellow-Romans defended him with all their mighli
At last an Insubrian trooper (his name was Ducarius), reco;
nising him also by his face, cried to his comrades, " See! this
" the man who slaughtered our legions, and laid waste our fiel
" and our city; I will offer him as a sacrifice to the shades
" my countrymen whom he so foully slew." Putting spurs to hi
horse, he charged through the thickest of the enemy, struck dowl
the armour-bearer who threw himself in the way of his furiou
advance, and ran the consul through with his lance. When h^

LIVY.

71

would have stripped the body, some veterans thrust their shields book xxii.
between and hindered him.

Then began the flight of a great part of the army. And
now neither lake nor mountain checked their rush of panic ;
by every defile and height they sought blindly to escape,
and arms and men were heaped upon each other. Many
finding no possibility of flight, waded into the shallows at
the edge of the lake, advanced until they had only head
and shoulders above the water, and at last drowned them-
selves. Some in the frenzy of panic endeavoured to escape by
swimming ; but the endeavour was endless and hopeless, and
they either sunk in the depths when their courage failed them,
or they wearied themselves in vain till they could hardly struggle
back to the shallows, where they were slaughtered in crowds
by the enemy's cavalry which had now entered the water.
Nearly six thousand men of the vanguard made a determined
rush through the enemy, and got clear out of the defile, knowing
nothing of what was happening behind them. Halting on some
high ground, they could only hear the shouts of men and
clashing of arms, but could not learn or see for the mist how
the day was going. It was when the battle was decided that
the increasing heat of the sun scattered the mist and cleared
the sky. The bright light that now rested on hill and plain
showed a ruinous defeat and a Roman army shamefully routed.
Fearing that they might be seen in the distance and that the
cavalry might be sent against them, they took up their standards
and hurried away with all the speed they could. The next d,ayj
finding their situation generally desperate, and starvation also
imminent, they capitulated to Hannibal, who had overtaken
them with the whole of his cavalry, and who pledged his word
that if they would surrender their arms, they should go free, each
man having a single garment. The promise was kept with
Punic faith by Hannibal, who put them all in chains.

7. Such was the famous fight at Trasumennus, memorable
as few other disasters of the Roman people have been.
Fifteen thousand men fell in the battle ; ten thousand, flying
in all directions over Etruria, made by different roads for
Rome. Of the enemy two thousand five hundred fell in the
battle. Many died afterwards of their wounds. Other authors

72 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. speak of a loss on both sides many times greater. I am myself
averse to the idle exaggeration to which writers are so com-
monly inclined, and I have here followed as my best authority
Fabius, who was actually contemporary with the war. Hannibal
released without ransom all the prisoners who claimed Latin
citizenship ; the Romans he imprisoned. He had the corpses
of his own men separated from the vast heaps of dead,
and buried. Careful search was also made for the body of
Flaminius to which he wished to pay due honour, but it could
not be found.

Consternation at At Rome the first tidings of this disaster brought a terror-
stricken and tumultuous crowd into the Forum. The matrons
wandered through the streets and asked all whom they met what
was this disaster of which news had just arrived, and how the army
had fared. A crowd, thick as a thronged assembly, with eyes
intent upon the Senate-house, called aloud for the magistrates,
till at last, not long before sunset, the praetor, Marcus Pom-
ponius, said, " We have been beaten. in a great battle." Nothing
more definite than this was said by him ; but each man had
reports without end to tell his neighbour, and the news which
they carried back to their homes was that the consul had
perished with a great part of his troops, that the few who had
survived were either dispersed throughout Etruria, or taken
prisoners by the enemy.

The mischances of the beaten army were not more numerous
than the anxieties which distracted the minds of those whose
relatives had served under Flaminius. All were utterly ignorant
how this or that kinsman had fared ; no one even quite knew
what to hope or to fear. On the morrow, and for some days
after, there stood at the gates a crowd in which the women
even outnumbered the men, waiting to see their relatives or
hear some tidings about them. They thronged round all
whom they met, with incessant questions, and could not tear
themselves away, least of all leave any acquaintance, till they
had heard the whole story to an end. Different indeed were
their looks as they turned away from the tale which had filled
them either with joy or grief, and friends crowded round to con-
gratulate or console them as they returned to their homes. The
women were most conspicuous for their transports and their grief.

LIVY. 73

Within one of the very gates, a woman unexpectedly meeting a book xxii.

son who had escaped, died, it is said, in his embrace ; another

who had had false tidings of her son's death and sat sorrowing

at home, expired from excessive joy when she caught sight of

him entering the house. The praetors for some days kept the

Senate in constant session from sunrise to sunset, deliberating

who Avas to lead an army, and what army was to be led against

the victorious foe.

8. Before any definite plans could be formed, there came ridirigs of fresh
without warning news of another disaster. Four thousand tsaster.
cavalry, sent with the consul Servilius under the command of the
propraetor Gaius Centenius to the help of Flaminius, had been
surrounded by Hannibal in Umbria, into which country they
had marched on hearing of the battle at Trasumennus. The
tidings of this occurrence affected men very variously. Some,
whose thoughts were wholly occupied by the greater trouble,
counted this fresh loss of a body of cavalry a mere trifle in
comparison with the previous disasters ; others felt that this
incident could not be taken as standing by itself. In a weakened
frame the most insignificant cause is felt as causes far more
serious are not felt in the healthy ; so, they argued, any loss that
falls upon a suffering and weakened State must be estimated
not by its intrinsic rhagnitude, but by the impaired strength,
which can endure nothing tliat would increase its burden.
The country hastily betook itself to a remedy which had not
been either wanted or employed for many years, the creation of
a dictator. But the consul was absent, and it was the consul
only, it would seem, who could create him ; it was no easy
matter to send him a messenger or a letter with the Carthaginian
armies in possession of Italy ; nor could the Senate make a
{dictator without consulting the people. In the end a step
IwhoUy unprecedented was taken. The people created Quintus Pabius
iFabius Maximus dictator, and Marcus Minucius Rufus ^f'^fi''"J^

I ' created dictator.

master of the horse. The Senate charged them to strengthen
he walls and towers of the city, to put garrisons in whatever
places they thought best, and to break down the bridges over
he rivers. Italy they could not defend, but they could still
v^\\\. for their city and their homes.

;. Hannibal marched straight through Umbria to Spoletum.* * Spoleto.

74 LIVY.

HOOK XXII. From this place he was repulsed with great loss, when, after
Hannibal fails devastating the country, he attempted the city by assault. It
"onspoletnm. '^^^^ "^^ °"^ °f the largest colonies, and having tried its
strength with such ill success, he was led to reflect what a vast
undertaking Rome itself would be. Accordingly he turned
aside to the territory of Picenum, a country abounding in pro-
duce of every kind, and richly stored with property which the
rapacious and needy soldiery plundered with eagerness. There
he kept his army stationary for a few days, refreshing his men
exhausted by winter marches, by their passage through the
marshes, and by a battle, which, however successful in its issue,
had been no slight or easy struggle. A short rest was enough
for a soldiery which loved plunder and ravage more than ease and
He ravages repose. Then moving forward he wasted the district of Prae-
^/llTJ^inili tutia* and Hadria, and next the country of the Marsi, Marrucini
districts. 3^p(j Peligni, with the region round Arpi and Luceria,t near the
+ Lucera. borders of Apulia. The consul Cn. Servilius had had mean-
while some slight engagements with the Gauls, and had stormed
one town of no note. When he heard that the other Consul
with his army had perished, he trembled for his country's saftity,
Servilius falls and rcsolving not to be absent in its hour of peril, marched rapidly

hack on Rome. i i >. j

to Rome.

On the day that Q. Fabius Maximus, who was now dictator
for the second time, entered upon his office, he convoked the
Senate. He began with mention of the gods ; it was. he
proved to the Senators, in neglect of religious rites and auspiceSj
rather than in rashness and want of skill that the error of
Flaminius had lain, and heaven itself, he urged, must be asked
how the anger of heaven could be propitiated. He thus prevailed
upon them to do what is scarcely ever done except when the most
sinister marvels have been observed, to order the Ten to consult
The Sibylline^ the books of the Sibyl. They inspected the volumes of destin) .
and reported to the Senate that, seeing that a vow to Mars was the
cause of the war, this vow, not having been duly performed, must
be performed anew and on a larger scale, that games of thiH
first class must be vowed to Jupiter, a temple to Venus of Ery
and another to Reason, that there must be a public litany and
banquet of the gods and a year of consecration vowed, if th
arms of Rome should be found to have prospered and the Stal

books cpnsulted.

LIVY.

75

Solemn

o'liUnances

decreed.

to remain in the same position which it had occupied before the book xxii.
war. The Senate, knowing that Fabius would be occupied with
the business of the campaign, directed the praetor, Marcus
Emilias, who had been nominated by the College of Pontiffs, to
see all things speedily done.

lo. These resolutions of the Senate duly passed, Lucius

Cornelius Lentulus, chief pontiff, declared (for the praetor had

the advice of the Sacred College) that the people must be con-

isulted about the year of consecration. Without the people's

Iconsent it could not, he said, be vowed. The question was put

to the people in these words : " Is it your will and pleasure that it

' shall be done as is hereinafter set forth 1 If the common weal

■' of the Roman people and of the Quirites be kept, according to

' my wish and prayer, whole and safe for the live years ne.xt

' following in these wars, to wit, the war that now is with the

' people of Carthage and the wars that now are with the Gauls

' dwelling on the hither side of the Alps, then the Roman people

' and the Quirites give as a free gift, all the increase in the

spring next following of swine, sheep, goats, cattle, not being

' already consecrated, to be sacrificed to Jupiter, on and after

' the day which the said Senate and people shall appoint. And

whosoever shall sacrifice, he may sacrifice whensoever and

after what order it shall please him. In what manner soever

he shall sacrifice, it shall be counted duly done. If that which

' should be sacrificed die, then shall it be counted as a thing un-

cons'ecrated, and the man shall be free. If any one should hurt

or slay a consecrated thing, not knowing, he shall be innocent.

If aught should be stolen, the people shall be free and also he

from whom it hath been stolen. If a man shall sacrifice on an

ill day not knowing, he shall be innocent. If he shall sacrifice

by day or by night, if he shall sacrifice, being a slave or free,

it shall be counted duly done. If aught shall be sacrificed

before that the Senate and the people shall have ordered such

sacrifices, the people shall be free and acquitted therefrom."

or the same reason games of the first class were vowed at a

ost of three hundred and thirty thousand three hundred and

hirty three brass pieces and a third, with three hundred oxen

lesides to Jupiter, and white oxen and the other customary

Bctims to many other deities. When the vows had been duly

76

LIVY.

frefia ra tions.

BOOK XXII. made, a public litany was ordered, to join in which came with.
their wives and children not only the population of the city, but
also the country folk, whom the public troubles were now begin-
ning to touch in some of their interests. Then a sacred banquet
was held for three days, under the care of ten ecclesiastical
commissioners. Six banqueting tables were publicly exhibited,
to Jupiter and Juno one, a second to Neptune and Minerva, a
third to Mars and Venus, a fourth to Apollo and Diana, a fifth
to Vulcan and Vesta, a sixth to Mercury and Ceres. Then the
two temples were vowed, that to Venus of Eryx by the dictator,
Q. Fabius Maximus, because it had been given forth from the
books of destiny that the vow should be made by him who held
the supreme authority in the State ; that to Reason by the praetor,
T, Otacilius.

II. The duties of religion thus discharged, the dictator
brought the state of the war and of the country before the
Senate, which had to determine what and how many should be
the legions with which the victorious enemy must be met. It
was resolved that he should take over the army of the consul
Servilius, should enlist into the cavalry and infantry as many
citizens and allies as he thought fit, and should generally act as
he considered best for the good of the State. Fabius said that
he should add two legions to the army of Servilius. These the
master of the horse was to levy, and the dictator named a day
on which they were to assemble at Tibur.* He made proclama-
tion that all inhabitants of unfortified towns and stations shoulc
remove into places of safety, that all the population of the
country through which Hannibal was likely to pass shoulc
desert it, first burning all buildings and destroying all crops
that he might find no supphes. He then marched along th(
Flaminian Road to meet the consul.

On reaching the Tiber, near Ocriculum,t he came in \\t\\
of the army and saw the consul advancing towards him witl
some troopers ; upon this he sent his apparitor with a messagi
to the consul that he was to come to the dictator without hi
lictors. The consul obeyed him," and their meeting produced ;
vast impression on citizens and allies, who had almost forgotto
what this obsolete office of dictator meant. Then came des
patches from Rome with news that some merchantmen, carryin)

Tivoli.

t Otricoli

LIVY. . 77

tores from Ostia to the army in Spain, had been taken by a BOOK xxil.

;arthaginian fleet near the harbour of Cosa. Fabius imme-

iately ordered the consul to start for Ostia, to man any ships

hat might be there or at Rome with soldiers and seamen, to

lursue the enemy's fleet, and to protect the coasts of Italy.

^ vast number of men had been enlisted at Rome. Even

reedmen, having children and being of the military age, had

aken the oath. Out of these city troops such as were under

hirty-five were sent to man the ships, others were left to garrison

he city.

12. The dictator took over the consul's army from the
kands of Fulvius Flaccus, second in command, and then,
raversing the Sabine country, came to Tibur, where he had
[ommanded the new levies to meet by a certain day. From
jTibur he marched to Prasneste, and so, by cross ways, to the
atin Road'; and then, always reconnoitring his ground most
arefully, advanced against the enemy, resolved nowhere to risk
nything more than necessity might compel. The first day that
e pitched his camp in sight of the enemy (the place was
ot far from Arpi), Hannibal, without a moment's delay, led
ut his men and offered battle. When he saw that all was
uiet in the Roman army, and that there was no sign of any
ir in their camp, he returned to his quarters, loudly ex-
lainiing that at last the martial spirit of Rome was broken —
ley had made open confession of defeat and yielded the palm
glory and valour. But in his heart was a secret fear that
had now to deal with a general very diff'erent from Flaminius
Sempronius, and that, taught by disasters, the Romans had at
st found a general equal to himself. He felt at once afraid of
e wariness of the new dictator ; of his firmness he had not yet
ade trial, and so began to harass and provoke him by repeat-
ly moving his camp and wasting under his eyes the territory
the allies. At one time he would make a rapid march and
jsappear ; at another he would make a sudden halt, concealed
^ )me winding road, where he hoped that he might catch
antagonist descending to the plain. Fabius continued cautions tactics
move his forces along high ground, preserving a moderate o/ Fabius.
tancefrom the enemy, neither letting him out of his sight
encountering him. He kept his soldiers within their camp.

78 1.1 VV.

BOOK XXII. unless they were required for some necessary service. Wher
they went in quest of forage or wood, it was not in small partie;
or at random. Pickets of cavalry and light troops were tok
off and kept in readiness to meet sudden alarms, a constan
protection to his own troops, a constant terror to the vagran
marauders of the enemy. He refused to stake his all on th(
hazard of a general engagement, but slight encounters, of littl(
importance with a refuge so near, could be safely venturec
on ; and a soldiery demoralised by former disasters were thus
habituated to think more hopefully of their own courage and gooc
luck. But these sober counsels found an adversary not only ir
Hannibal, but quite as much in his own master of the horse
who, headstrong and rash in counsel and intemperate in speech,
was kept from ruining his country only by the want of power
First to a few listeners, then openly before the ranks of the army
he stigmatised his commander as more indolent than deliberate,
more cowardly than cautious, fastening on him failings which
were akin to his real virtues, and seeking to exalt himself by
lowering his chief — a vile art, which has often thriven by a too
successful practice.
Hannibal 1 3. Hannibal passed from the territory of the Hirpini into

SamniumTand Samnium, ravaged the country round Beneventum,* and took
thence into ^|^g town of Telcsia, still purposely provoking the Roman

* Benevento. general, in the hope that the insults and injuries inflicted on the
allies might rouse him into fighting a pitched battle. Among
the crowd of Italian allies who had been taken prisoners al
Trasumennus by Hannibal and set at liberty, were three Cam
panian knights, whom the Carthaginians had then won over, b}
liberal gifts and promises, to undertake the task of conciliatin;
to him the affections of their countrymen. They now came anc
told him that if he would move his army into Campania,
would have an opportunity of securing Capua ; the matter seei
too important for the authority on which it rested ; Hannil
now doubted, now believed, but was so far moved as torn;
his way from Campania into Samnium. His informants he si
away with repeated warnings that they must give some su'
stantial proof of their promises, and with instructions to retu:
to him with a more numerous company, some of whom must
men of importance. He gave personal orders to the guide

LIVY.

79

take him to the territory of Casinum,* those who knew the country

having informed him that by occupying that pass he could close

the outlet by which the Romans might send help to their allies.

But the Carthaginian pronunciation was so different from the

Latin, that the guide mistook Casinum for Casilinum,! and

Hannibal, taken out of his intended route, came down through

AUifae,! Callifae, and Cales,§ on the plains of Stella. When he

looked round on the country, which is shut in by hills and rivers,

he sent for the guide and asked him where in the world he was.

The man told him that he would have his quarters that day at

CasiHnura. Then at last he discovered the mistake, and heard

that Casinum was far away in another direction. The guide was

scourged and crucified to terrify his fellows. Hannibal then

brtified his camp, and sent out Maharbal with his cavalry to

lunder the territory of Falernum. His ravages extended as far

3 the Baths of Sinuessa.^ Great was the damage, but yet greater

[and more widespread was the panic and terror caused by the

jNumidian troopers ; but though war raged all around them, all

ts terrors failed to shake the loyalty of our allies. The truth was

that they were under a righteous and moderate rule, and they

fielded — and this is the only true bond of loyalty— a willing

j)bedience to their betters.

j 14. But when Hannibal had encamped by the Vulturnus,

I.nd the fairest lands of Italy were being wasted by fire, and
he smoke of burning houses went up in every direction, then
he mutinous spirit almost broke out afresh in the army which
Fabius was leading along the ridge of the Massic range. For
ome days, indeed, the troops had been quiet ; the army had
>een inarching more rapidly than usual, and they had fancied
pat this haste was to save Campania from ravage. But when
hey reached the last spur on the Massic range and saw the
jnemy beneath them burning every building in the Falernian
istrict, or belonging to the citizens of Sinuessa, and yet heard
ot a word about fighting, then Minucius broke forth : " Have
we come hither to see, as though it were some delightful
spectacle, our allies wasted by fire and sword ? Are we not
lashamed to think— if of none else — yet at least of these fellow-
citizens of ours, whom our fathers sent to colonise Sinuessa,
and so to protect this region from our Samnite enemies ; and

BOOK XXII.
* San German o.

He is guided by
juistake to Casi-

liniDn instead

of Casinum.

t Capoua.

t Alife.

§ Calvi.

H Mandragone.

Mutiny in

Fabius's army

stirred up by

his master of

the tiorse.

8o Livy.

BOOK XXII. " now it is not the Samnite from beyond the border, but the
" Carthaginian from beyond the sea that has been allowed by
" our delays and our indolence to make his way hither from the
" very ends of the earth ? We have so degenerated from our
" fathers that we calmly see the very country, by whose
" shores they thought it an insult to our power for a Cartha-
" ginian fleet to cruise, crowded with enemies, savages from
" Numidia and Mauretania. We, too, who the other day, in our
" wrath that Saguntum should be assailed, appealed not only to
" men, but to heaven and the faith of treaties, now idly gaze on
" Hannibal as he climbs the walls of a colony of Rome. The
" smoke from burning houses and fields is blown into our eyes
" and faces ; our ears are deafened with the clamour of allies
" who cry for help to us even more than to the gods. And we
" are leading our army, as if they were cattle, through summer
"pastures and out-of-the-way tracks, hiding ourselves in mists
"and forests. If Marcus Furius had thought to recover our
" capital from the Gauls by this plan of wandering over pastures
" and hills by which this new Camillus, this wonderful dictator,
" who has been found for us in our troubles, is seeking to save
" Italy from Hannibal, Rome would now be a city of the Gauls ;
" and much I fear that, if we thus linger, our fathers saved it
" again and again for Hannibal and the Carthaginians. But
" that true man and true Roman, as soon as tidings came to
" Veil that he had been named dictator at the instance of
" the Senate, and bidding of the people, though Janiculum was
" quite high enough for him to sit and survey the enemy, came
" down to the plain, and slaughtered the legions of the Gaul on
" that very day in the middle of the city where now stand the
" Gauls' ' Tombs,' and on the next day between Rome and Gabii.
" What ? when many years after this we were sent under the
"yoke at the Caudine Forks by our Samnite foes, was it, pray,
" by wandering over the Samnite hills, or by assailing and
" beleaguering Luceria, and by challenging the victorious enemj
" that L. Papirius Cursor shook the yoke from off Roman neci
" and placed it on the haughty Samnite ? What was it a few yeati
" ago but speedy action that gave Caius Lutatius his victory? Th^
" very day after catching sight of the enemy, he destroyed theil
" fleet, burdened as it was with stores, and hampered with it^

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 8i

' own tackling and equipment. It is folly to think that the war book xxii.

* can be finished by sitting still and praying. You must take

' your arms ; you must go down to the plain ; you must meet

' the enemy man to man. It is by boldness and action that the

'power of Rome has grown, not by these counsels of indolence,

' which only cowards call caution."

A throng ot tribunes and Roman knights crowded round
Vlinucius as he played the popular orator, and his fierce words
cached even to the ears of the soldiers. All showed plainly
mough that, if the matter could have been put to a vote of
he army, they would have had Minucius rather than Fabius
"or their leader.

15. Fabius had to be on his guard against his own men Fabius still
iTst as much as against the enemy, and made them feel that cautious tactics.
hey could not conquer his resolution. Though he knew well
hat his policy of delay was odious, not only in his own camp, but
ilso at Rome, yet he steadfastly adhered to the same plan of
iction, and so let the summer wear away, till Hannibal, losing
ill hope of the pitched battle, which he had made every effort
:o bring on, began to look out for a place for winter- quarters, the
:ountry which he occupied being one of temporary, rather than
permanent plenty, a land of orchards and vineyards planted
ather for pleasure than utility. Fabius learnt all this from his
scouts. When he was quite sure that Hannibal meant to leave
ihe Falernian country by the same passes by which he had
intered it, he occupied Mount Callicula and Casilinum in some
prce. The town of Casilinum is divided into two parts by the river
r ulturnus, and thus separates the Falernian country from Cam-
ania. His main army he led back along the same range, while
e sent L. Hostilius Mancinus to reconnoitre with five hundred R^shnest of <me
avalry of the allies. Mancinus was one of the crowd of youths of his officers,

1, . ,1. -11/-, /•, ,. who ts defeated

jho frequently listened to the fierce harangues of the master of and slain in a
lie horse. At first he moved simply as the leader of a reconnais- sk^mlsh.
mce, watching the enemy from a place of safety, but when he
Iw the Numidian troops scattered everywhere in the villages,
fd even cut off a few of them by a sudden surprise, he was
once full of the thought of battle, and wholly forgot the
:tator's instructions, which were that he should advance as
as he safely could, but should retreat before he could

G

82

LIVY.

BOOK XXII.

* Terracina.

Embarrassing
position of

Hannibal, He

frees himself by
a singular
stratagem.

t Mola di Gaeta.

X Tor di Patria

be seen by the enemy. The Numidians, now attacking, now
retreating, drew him on, his men and horses alike exhausted,
to the very rampart of their camp. Here Carthalo, who was
in supreme command of the cavalry, charged at full gallop,
sent his adversary flying before he came within javelin throw,
and followed the fugitives for five miles continuously. When
Mancinus saw that the enemy would not desist from the pursuit,
and that he had no hope of escaping, he encouraged his men,
and turned to fight, though in no respect was he a match for his
foe. And so he and the best of his troopers were surrounded
and slain ; the others made their escape in wild confusion, first
to Cales, and thence by tracks which were scarcely passable to
the dictator's army.

It so happened that Miriucius had that day rejoined Fabius.
He had been sent to post a force in the pass above Tarracina *
where it contracts into a gorge close upon the sea. This was
to prevent the Carthaginian from making his way along the
Appian Road into the country round Rome. Having united
their forces, the dictator and the master of the horse moved
their camp down from the hills on to the road along which
Hannibal would have to march. The distance between them
and the enemy was two miles. ,

1 6. The following day the Carthaginian army occupied the
whole space between the two camps. The Romans had taken!
up a position close under their intrenchments. Though it cer-ll
tainly gave them an advantage, yet the Carthaginians advanced
with their light cavalry to provoke a battle. They fough
alternately charging and retreating. The Roman army kept i^
ground. The conflict was protracted, and more to the sati^
faction of Fabius than of Hannibal. Two hundred of tl:
Romans, eight hundred of the enemy fell.

Hannibal now seemed shut in. The road to Casilinum wal
blocked ; and while there were Capua, and Samnium, anJ
wealthy allies without end in their rear to furnish the Roman f
with supplies, the Carthaginians would have to winter amid thj
rocks of FormiaSjf the sands ^nd marshes of Liternum,! an ■■
in wild forests. Hannibal was quite aware that he wa
being met by a strategy like his own, as he could n(i
escape by way of Casilinum, but must make for the hills ar

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 83

cross the ridge of Callicula, before the Romans could attack book xxii.

his army, shut in as it was by the valleys. Accordingly, to

deceive his foe, he contrived an optical illusion of most

alarming appearance, and resolved to move stealthily up the

hills at nightfall. The deception was thus arranged. — Firewood

was collected from all the country round, and bundles, of twigs

and dry fagots were fastened to the horns of oxen, of which he

had many, from the plundered rural districts, both broken and

unbroken to the plough. Upwards of two thousand oxen were

thus treated, and Hasdrubal was entrusted with the business of

driving this herd, with their horns alight, on to the hills, more

particularly, as he best could, to those above the passes occupied

by the enemy.

17. In the dusk of evening, he silently struck his camp ;

the oxen were driven a little in front of the standards. When

they reached the foot of the mountain, where the roads

parrowed, the signal was immediately given to hurry the herd

Ivvith their horns alight up the slope of the hills. They rushed

pn, goaded into madness by the terror of the flames which

Bashed from their heads, and by the heat which soon reached

'he flesh at the root of their horns. At this sudden rush all the

jhickets seemed to be in a blaze, and the very woods and

fountains to have been fired ; and when the beasts vainly shook

Jieir heads, it seemed as if men were running about in every

lirection. The troops posted in the pass, seeing fires on the

jill-tops and above them, fancied that they had been surrounded,

jnd left their position. They made for the loftiest heights as

jeing their safest route, for it was there that the fewest flashes

It light were visible ; but even there they fell in with some of

e oxen which had strayed from their herd. When they saw

em at a distance, they stood thunderstruck at what seemed to

the miracle of oxen breathing fire. As soon as it was seen

be nothing but a human contrivance, they suspected some

^ep stratagem and fled in wilder confusion than ever. They

io fell in with some of the enemy's light-armed troops, but

Ith sides were equally afraid in the darkness to attack, and so

rey remained until dawn. Meanwhile Hannibal had led his

V ole army through the pass, cutting off, as he went, some of

1 opponents, and pitched his camp in the territory of AUifse.

G 2

84 ■ LIVY.

ROOK XXII. i8. Fabius heard the uproar, but suspecting some stratagem,
and in any case averse to fighting by night, he kept his men
within their Hnes. At dawn there was skirmishing under the
ridge of the hill, where the Romans cut off some light troops
from the main body, and would have easily beaten them, as
they were somewhat superior in number, but for the appearance
of a Spanish cohort, which Hannibal had sent back to provide
for the emergency. The Spaniards were more used to hills ;
what with their nimble frames and suitable arms, they were
lighter and so better able than the Romans to fight among crags
and rocks, and they easily baffled in such encounters their low-
land foe, with his heavy armour and stationary tactics. After a
conflict that was anything but even, they parted, the Spaniards
almost all unhurt, the Romans with considerable loss, and so
made each for their camp.

Fabius also moved his camp and traversing the pass, oc-
cupied a strong and elevated position above AUifas. Upon this ■
Hannibal made a feint as if he intended to advance on Rome
through Samnium, and turned back, ravaging as he went,
to the Pelignian country. Fabius marched along the heights
keeping between the enemy's army and the capital, neither avoid^
ing nor attacking him. Leaving the Peligni, Hannibal altered
his route and fell back into Apulia to Gereonium, a town whicl
its inhabitants had deserted in alarm at the fall of a great par
of their walls. The dictator fortified a camp in the district o|

*LarinoVeccliio. Larinum.* From this place he was summoned to Rome or

Fabius is religious business. By advice, and even by entreaties, as wel^

"/^"me"anJ' ^s by his actual authority, he urged the master of the horse tq

ieaves Minucius j^ust to prudcucc rather that to fortune, and to take himselj

in command. ^ ' '

rather than a Sempronius or a Flaminius as his model of
general. "He must not fancy," he said, "that nothing hac'
" been achieved when a summer had been nearly spent ii
" baffling the enemy ; the physician often accomphshed mor
" by doing nothing than by movement and action. It was ni,
" small matter that they had ceased to be vanquished by ai
" enemy who had vanquished them so often, and had begun t
" breathe again after incessant disasters." After impressing thes
counsels, but all to no purpose, on the master of the horse, h
set out for Rome.

A

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 85

19. In the beginning of the summer in which all this book xxii.
happened hostilities commenced in Spain both by land and sea. operations in
Hasdrubal added ten ships to the fleet which he had received ' ^"''""
from his brother ready equipped for action. He gave Himilco
a squadron of forty ships, and then, starting from New Carthage,
he advanced with his ships close to land and his army on the
shore, prepared to give battle to the enemy in whatever form
he might encounter him. At first Cn. Scipio, on hearing that
the enemy had moved out of his winter-quarters, had the same
intention. But second thoughts made him shrink from a battle
on land, so great was the fame of the enemy's new auxiliaries ;
and embarking some of his picked troops he went to meet the
enemy with a squadron of five-and-thirty ships. On the day
after leaving Tarraco he reached an anchorage ten miles dis-
tant from the mouth of the Ebro. He had sent in advance two
Massilian vessels to reconnoitre. These brought back news that
the fleet of the Carthaginians was at anchor in the mouth of the
river, and their camp pitched on the banks.

Scipio weighed anchor and advanced against the enemy,
'hoping to take him unaware and unprepared, and to crush him

in the panic of a general attack. There are many towers in
Jpain built on high ground, which they use both as watch-
towers and as defences against robbers. From one of these
jhe hostile fleet was first descried, and the signal given to Has-
jirubal. Thus it was on land and in the camp that the alarm
jirst arose, not by the sea or among the ships, where no one
|;ould yet hear the dash of the oar, or any other sound of the
lind, and the projecting cliffs did not allow the fleet to be seen,
phat moment came from Hasdrubal horseman after horseman.
The men, who were wandering about the shore or sleeping in
heir tents, thinking of anything rather than of the enemy and
f a battle to be fought that very day, were ordered instantly
i man their ships and arm themselves ; the Roman fleet, it
'as said, was close to the harbour. Troopers were sent
ither and thither with these orders. Soon Plasdrubal him-
2lf came up with his whole army. All was uproar and con-
cision ; rowers and sailors rushed together into the ships,
|hich seemed to be flying from the shore rather than going
jito battle. Before all were well on board, some unfastened

86

LIVY.

BOOK XXII.

Defeat of d,

Carthaginian

fleet.

their cables and drifted towards their anchors ; others, to have
nothing to checlc them, cut the anchor-ropes. Everything
was done with excessive haste and hurry ; the preparations of
the soldiers hindered the sailors in their work ; the panic of
the sailors prevented the soldiers from arming themselves or
preparing for battle. By this time the Romans were more than
approaching ; they were bringing their ships straight to the
attack. The Carthaginians were confounded quite as much
by their own disorder as by the assault of the enemy ; after
essaying to fight, rather than fighting, they turned their ships to
fly ; they could not of course get into the mouth of the river in
their rear, with so widely extended a line, and so many crowding
in together. Accordingly they drove their ships ashore in every
direction, and then, plunging into the shallows or jumping on to
dry land, armed or unarmed, they made their escape to the
rank's of friendly troops drawn up along the shore. However,
in the first onset two Carthaginian ships were taken and
four sunk.

20. The Romans, though the enemy was master on shore,
and though they saw the hostile lines extended along the coast ^
pursued without hesitation the routed fleet. To the stern of every
ship which had not shattered its bows on the shore or wedged
its keel in the sand they fastened ropes, and so dragged them
out to sea. Out of the forty they captured twenty-five.
The Romans Howcver, the best part of their victory was not this, but that

sea off the coast by one slight affair they became masters of all the sea that
of Spain. washes that coast. After this the fleet sailed to Onusa and there
they made a descent. They stormed and sacked the city, and
then made for New Carthage, ravaged all the country round it,
and even set fire to the dwellings that adjoined the walls and the
gates. From Carthage the fleet went laden with booty to
Longuntica, where there was a vast quantity of esparto grass,
which Hasdrubal had collected for the use of his fleet. They
removed as much as they wanted and set fire to the rest. Nor
did they only cruise along the mainland ; they even crossed to
the island of Ebusus. Here for two days they assaulted with
all their might, but in vain, the capital town of the island
Finding that they were wasting time on what they could nc
hope to accomplish, they took to plundering the country, sacked

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

87

and burnt several villages, and got back to their ships with more
plunder than they had collected from the mainland. Here
envoys from the Balearic islands came to Scipio to ask for peace.
From this point the fleet turned back, and they returned to the
eastern side of the province, whither assembled envoys from
all the tribes near the Ebro and from many that dwelt in
remotest Spain. The tribes who were really brought under the
sway of Rome and gave hostages, were more than one hundred
and twenty; The Romans now felt fairly confident of the power
I of their army and marched as far as the pass of Castulo.
Hasdrubal retired to Lusitania, where he was nearer to the
Atlantic.

21. After this it seemed likely that the rest of the summer
would pass quietly, and so it would have as far as the
Carthaginians were concerned. But the Spanish temper is always
restless and eager for change, and, besides this, Mandonius
land Indibilis, formerly prince of the Ilergetes, as soon as the
Romans had retired from the pass to the coast, called their
Itribesmen to arms and came intent on plunder into the peaceful
Iterritory of Rome's allies. Scipio sent against them some
'light-armed auxiliaries under the command of a military tribune,
|\vho routed them — the_y were but an undisciplined rabble — after
^ slight engagement, killing some, capturing others, and dis-
arming many of the rest. The outbreak, however, induced
Hasdrubal to stay his march towards the Atlantic coast, and
return to the west bank of the Ebro, where he might defend his
jillies. The Carthaginian camp was pitched in the neighbour-
[lood of Ilergavonia ; that of the Romans at Nova Classis, when
fresh news changed all at once the seat of war. The Celtiberi,
|vho were the leading tribe of their part of Spain, had sent
[imbassadors and given hostages to the Romans, and now at
jhe bidding of an envoy from Scipio, they took up arms and
Invaded with a powerful army the province of New Carthage.
I'hey took three towns by storm ; and then fought two brilliantly
{uccessful battles with Hasdrubal himself, killing fifteen thou-
jand of the enemy and capturing four thousand, together with
l^any standards.

I 22. This was the state of affairs in Spain when Publius Scipio
The Senate had prolonged his com-

BOOK XXII.

Defeat oj the

Ilergetes by

Scipio.

pme into the province.

Arrival of

Publius Scipio

in Spain.

88 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. mand after the end of his consulship, and sent him with thirty
ships of war, eight thousand soldiers, and a great supply of
provisions. The fleet with its huge array of transports was
descried at a great distance, and excited the liveliest joy among
citizens and allies when it ended its voyage in the harbour of
Tarraco. Scipio landed his troops there and marched to join
his brother. Thenceforward the two carried on the campaign
with one heart and purpose. As the Carthaginians were oc-
cupied with the Celtiberi, they did not hesitate to cross the
Ebro, and not seeing an enemy, continued to advance on
Saguntum, to which place it was reported that the hostages from
the whole of Spain had been transferred by Hannibal, and were
there kept in the citadel by but a small guard. It was only this
pledge that stayed the universal inclination of the Spanish
tribes towards alliance with Rome. They feared lest the guilt
of their defection should be expiated by the blood of their
children.

From this difficulty Spain was freed by the policy, inglorious
rather than honourable, of one man. Abelux was a noble
Spaniard at Saguntum. Once he had been loyal to Carthage ;
but now — and such characters are common among barbarians —
with a change of fortune he had changed his allegiance. Feeling
that a deserter who went over to the enemy with nothing
valuable to betray, brought nothing but his one worthless and
disreputable person, he aimed at being as profitable as possible
to his new allies. After anxiously considering everything that
fortune could possibly put within his reach, he turned his
thoughts by preference to delivering up the hostages, the one
thing, he knew, which would win for Rome the friendship of
the Spanish chiefs. Knowing, however, that the keeper of the
hostages would do nothing but at the bidding of Bostar the
governor, he brought his arts to bear on Bostar himself. Bostar
had established a camp outside the town, quite on the shore, to
close against the Romans any approach on that side. Here
Abelux took him aside, and explained to him, as he might to a
stranger, the aspect of affairs. "-Hitherto," he said, "fear had
** held the inclinations of the Spaniards in check, because the
" Romans have been far away ; now the Roman camps have
" been advanced to the west of the Ebro and afford safe shelter

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 89

"and refuge to all who desire a change. The men who are book xxir.
"no longer ruled by fear, you must bind by kindness and
" favours."

Bostar was astonished, and wished to know what this unex-
pected and all-important present could be. " Send back," said
Abelux, "the hostages to their states. This will be agreeable
" to the parents personally, and they have great weight in their
'• own states, and agreeable to the tribes generally. Every one
" likes to -be treated with confidence ; to trust a man's loyalty
" often binds that loyalty the faster. I claim for myself the
" office of restoring the hostages to their homes ; I would expend
' all possible pains to carry out my plan and add to an act that
" is graceful in itself all the grace that I can."

Abelux satisfied Bostar, who had scarcely the average

shrewdness of a Carthaginian, and then made his way secretly

by night to the Roman outposts, where he met some Spanish

auxiliaries, who conducted him to Scipio. To him he explained The Spanish

his proposal, gave and received a promise of friendship, arranged sa^mtult^are

a time and place for handing over the hostages, and so handed mer to

returned to Saguntum. The next day he spent with Bostar in who set them at

receiving instructions for the business in hand. From the ' ^^ ''

[governor he went to those who had the custody of the boys, and

I set out at the exact hour on which he had agreed with the

'enemy, having arranged to travel by night, for the purpose, he

s lid, of eluding their watch. Thus he led the party, unknowingly,

las it seemed, into a trap which his own craft had prepared.

They were conducted into the Roman camp, and the whole

pusiness of restoring the hostages to their friends, as had been

arranged with Bostar, was carried out in exactly the same way as

ff the thing were being done in the name of Carthage. Yet

fhough the favour was the same, Rome earned considerably

Inore gratitude than Carthage would have done. Carthage they

jiad found tyrannical and haughty in the day of prosperity, and

Ihey might well believe that it was disaster and fear that had

loftened her ; Rome, a stranger before, on her very first intro-

fuction to them began with an act of kindness and generosity,

|nd the sagacious Abelux seemed to have had good reason for

ihanging his friends. All now began with surprising unanimity

p meditate revolt ; and an insurrection would have broken out

90 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. at once but for the interruption of winter, which compelled both
Romans and Carthaginians to seek shelter.

23. So much for what happened in Spain in the second
summer of the Punic War. In Italy Fabius's wise policy ol
Unpopularity (?/ delay had stayed for a while Rome's disasters. It was a policy
Fabius at Rome, ^j^g^j. g^^g Hannibal no little anxiety, seeing, as he did, that
at length the Romans had chosen to direct their arms a mar
who fought on system, not by chance ; but among his own
countrymen, soldiers as well as civilians, it was held in con-
tempt, certainly after the master of the horse had in his absence
rashly ventured a battle with a result which it would be more
correct to call fortunate than successful. Two circumstances
increased the dictator's unpopularity. One was due to the
falsehood and craft of Hannibal. Deserters had pointed out to
him the dictator's estate, and he had given orders that, while
everything round it was levelled to the ground, it should be kept
safe from fire and sword and all hostile violence, hoping that
this forbearance might be thought the consideration for some
secret agreement. The other was the result of the dictator's
own action — action possibly doubtful for a time, as he had hot
waited for the Senate's sanction, but finally beyond all question
turning out very much to his credit. In the exchange of
prisoners it had been agreed between the two generals, following
the precedent of the first Punic War, that the side which had
more to receive than to hand over should make good as much as
two pounds and a half of silver for every man. The Romans had
received back two hundred and forty-seven more prisoners than
the Carthaginians ; finding that after frequent debate on the
He sells his land matter there was delay in voting the money due for these men.
'^'' had sparedTJ'' because he had not consulted the Senate, he sent his son
ran^on^forlhe Q'ii'itus to Rome, sold the estate which the enemy had spared
Roman and discharged the public obligation at his own cost.

prisoners. .. . .

Hannibal was m a stationary camp before the walls 0]|
Gereonium, a city which he had taken and burnt, but in whic
he had left a few houses to serve as bams. He sent out tv
divisions of his army to collect corn, and remained himself wit
a third division in readiness to move, thus at once protecting hi
camp and watching against any attack that might be made
his foraging parties.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 91

24. At this time the Roman army was in the country of book xxil.
Larinum, Minucius, master of the horse being in command, in the absence
:he dictator, as I have already said, having started for Rome. The Minncius"gams
:amp, pitched hitherto on the hills, on high and secure ground, advlntlgl over
was now brought down to the plain, and more energetic Hannibal.
measures, suited to the temper of the new general, were discussed
i'or attacking the scattered foragers or the enemy's lines, left
is they were with a slender garrison. Hannibal did not fail to
perceive that a change of plans had followed a change of
generals, and that the foe was likely to show more dash than
;aution. Very strangely, he now, though the enemy was so near,
sent out a third of his troops to forage, and kept two-thirds in
liis camp. Next he moved the camp itself nearer to the Romans,
ibout two miles away from Gereonium, on to some rising
ground within their sight, to make it plain to them that he was
bent on protecting his foragers, should an attack be threatened.
From this point he saw some high ground yet nearer and
ictually overhanging the Roman camp. Should he move on
jt in the broad light of day, it was certain that the enemy,
having a shorter space to traverse, would get the start of him ;
(le sent therefore some Numidians who occupied it under cover
j)f darkness.

\ Next day the Romans, despising the scanty numbers that held

the place, attacked them, drove them out, and moved thither

heir own camp. There was now but a very small space between

|ne rampart and the other, and this was almost wholly occupied

|y Roman troops. At the same time some cavalry and light

irmed soldiers darted out against the foragers from the side

pat was furthest from Hannibal's camp and made a great rout

jtid slaughter in their scattered ranks. And Hannibal did not

feature to fight a battle, for a great part of his army was away,

hd his force was so scanty that he could scarcely protect his

imp should it be attacked. He now began to adopt the tactics

Fabius, to sit still and to delay, and retired his men to his

St camp outside Gereonium. Some authorities have it that a

:^lar battle was fought ; that at the first encounter the

■(irthaginians were driven in confusion to their camp ; that the

pmans in their turn were panic-stricken by a sudden sally, and

Ijat the day was finally won by the arrival of a Samnite officer,

92 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. Numerius Decimius. Numerius, whose birth and wealth made
* Bojano. him the first man, not only in Bovianuni,* his native place, but
in the whole of Samnium, was marching eight thousand infantry
and five hundred cavalry into the camp by order of the dictator ;
he could now be seen by Hannibal in his rear, and presented the
appearance of reinforcements coming from Rome with Fabius.
Hannibal, fearing some stratagem, drew back his troops ; the
Romans pursued, and with the help of the Samnites, stormed
that same day two redoubts. Of the enemy there fell six,
of the Romans five thousand men ; but though the loss on both
sides were so nearly equal, a foolish report of a splendid victory
was sent to Rome with a despatch from the master of the horse
that was yet more foolish.
Violent feeling 2$. These matters were often debated both in the Senate
"^ZT^^m."" and in the Assembly of the People. When, amidst the uni-
versal joy, the dictator alone would believe neither report nor
despatch, and declared that, allowing all to be true, he was
more afraid of successes than reverses, then Marcus Metihus,
tribune of the people, spoke out. "This," he said, "really
" cannot be endured, that the dictator should not only have set
" himself, when he was with the army, against any attempt at suc-
" cess, but should also, when he is not with it, set himself against
" a success actually achieved ; that, in his tedious campaigning, he
" should purposely waste time to keep himself longer in office and
" to enjoy a monopoly of power both at Rome and in the field '
" One consul has fallen in battle, the other has been banishe
" far away from Italy under the pretence that he is to pursu
" the Carthaginian fleet. The two praetors are employed in Sicih
" and Sardinia, though there is now no need for a praetor in eithe
" province. Marcus Minucius,the master of the horse, isalmos
" kept in prison that he may not even see the enemy or do an;
" of a soldier' s business. Good heavens! it is not only Sam
" nium, which indeed we have given up to Carthage just ai
" much as if it were Spain beyond the Ebro, but Campania a;
" the country round Cales and Falerii that have been ravag(
" while the dictator sits still at Casilinum and employs the legioi
" of the Roman people in protecting his own estate. An
" eager to fight and a master of the horse have been aim
" shut up within their entrenchments , their arms have b

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

93

A proposal to

give Minucius

equal power

with Fabius.

"taken from them, just as if they had been prisoners from the book xxii.

" enemy. At length, when the dictator left them, they marched

" out of their lines, like men released from a siege, and routed

" and put to flight the enemy. For these reasons, were the

" old spirit still present to the Commons of Rome, I should

" have boldly proposed that Quintus Fabius be deposed. As it

" is, I shall offer a strictly moderate resolution, equalising the

" power of the dictator and the master of the horse. Even if

" this is carried, Fabius must not join the army till he has

■' appointed a consul in the room of Caius Flaminius."

The dictator abstained from all public speeches on behalf
of a most unpopular policy. Even in the Senate he was heard
with disfavour when he extolled Hannibal, and maintained that
the disasters of the last two years had been incurred through
the rashness and inexperience of our generals, and that the
master of the horse would have to answer to him for having
fought in disobedience to his commands. " If," he said, " I am
" supreme in command and counsel, I will soon make men
" know that, with a good general, fortune is of little account,
'' that good sense and sound judgment carry the day, and that
" it is far more glorious to have kept an army safe at a critical
" moment and without disgrace than to have slain many
" thousands of the enemy." But he urged these arguments to
jno purpose ; and so, after appointing Marcus Atilius Regulus
jconsul, as he did not wish to stay himself and wrangle about
jclaims to power, he left for the army by night.
j There was an assembly of the Commons at dawn. Silent ill-
jfeeling towards the dictator, and a liking for the master of the
horse were strong in the public mind, but men hardly dared to
pome forward and advocate what was really popular. Thus the
JTiotion, though it found abundant favour, still wanted supporters,
pne man alone was found to argue for the bill, Caius Terentius
^''arro, praetor of the year before, a man of birth not only humble
put positively mean. It was said that his father had been a
putcher, who sold his own goods by retail, and who had em-
jiloyed this very son in the menial employments of his trade.

26. Growing to manhood, he found in the money left by
fis father the hope of rising from these sordid gains " to a
' obler position ; the advocate's gown suited his taste ; noisy

Supported l<y

Tereniiui

Varro.

94 LIVY,

BOOK XXII. declamations for ignoble clients and causes brought him first to
notoriety and afterwards to public office. Becoming quaestor,
plebeian and curule aedile, and at last praetor, he was now
even raising his aspirations to the consulship. With no small

Carried by his cunning he sought to win the people's favour out of the dislike
mjj-ueiice. £gjj. f^j. ^j^g dictator, and secured for himself all the popularity
of the resolution.

All men, whether at Rome or in the army, whether friends
or foes, took the bill as an intentional insult to the dictator.
Not so the dictator himself. In the same dignified spirit in
which he had borne the charges made against him before the
populace, he now bore the wrong which the Commons inflicted
in their rage. The despatch from the Senate announcing the
equalisation of mihtary authority reached him on his way.
Confident that the commander's skill could not be equalized
along with the right to command, he returned to the army with
a soul that neither his fellow-citizens nor the enemy could
subdue.

27. As for Minucius, success and popularity had already
made him scarcely endurable, and now he began to boast
without restraint or modesty that he had vanquished Fabius
quite as much as he had vanquished Hannibal. " This mar-
" vellous general discovered in our trouble to be a match for
" Hannibal, this supreme commander, this dictator has been
" put on a level with me, his inferior, his master of the horse
" made such by the will of the people, though there is no prece-
" dent for it in our history, and though in Rome the master of
" the horse has been wont to tremble and quake at the axes and
" rods of the dictator. So brilliantly conspicuous have been my
" good fortune and valour. It is for me therefore to follow out
" my destiny, if the dictator persists in a delay and an inactioii
" on which gods and men alike have pronounced sentence."

The command Accordingly on the first day that he met Ouintus Fabius, h

dwided between ,,,,,- ,. , ,'~

Minucius and declared that the first thmg to be settled was how they wei
to exercise the divided command. His own opinion was tha
the supreme authority and command should rest with them o]
alternate days, or for some settled time, if a longer period seema
preferable. They would thus be a match for the enemy not onl|
in strategy, but also in actual force, should any opportunity fw

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 95

actioft present itself. This plan in nowise approved itself to BOOK xxil.

Fabius. Everything, he saw, would thus be at the mercy of

any mischance that might befall his colleague's rashness. His

command had been shared, not taken from him ; he would

never willingly relinquish the duty of prudently directing

matters, as far as might be ; he would share the troops with

him rather than periods or days of command, and would save

by his counsels what he could, since he might not save all.

He had his way, and the legions were divided between the

two, as was the regular practice with the consuls. The first

and fourth fell to Minucius, the second and third to Fabius.

They also made an equal division of the cavalry, of the allies,

and of the Latin auxiliaries. The master of the horse also

chose to have a separate camp.

28. Hannibal was now doubly delighted, and not a single
movement of his foe escaped him. The deserters told him
much, and he learnt much from his own spies. He would
entrap in his own fashion the frank rashness of Minucius,
while the experienced Fabius had lost half of his strength.
[There was some rising ground between the camp of Minucius
iind that of the Carthaginians, and it was clear that whoever
jihould occupy it, would thereby make the enemy's position
ess favourable. It was not so much Hannibal's desire to gain
fhis without fighting, though that would have been worth the
attempt, as to find in it the occasion of a battle with Minu-
cius, who would, he was quite sure, sally forth to oppose
jiim. All the ground between them seemed at first sight useless
pr purposes of ambush. Not only had it no vestige of wood
jbout it, but it was without even a covering of brambles. In
ality, nature made it to conceal an ambush, all the more because
o hidden danger could be feared in so bare a valley. In its
Hndings were caverns, some of them large enough to hold two Minucius faih
lundred armed men. Into these hiding places, wherever there "%H*annibaL
ias one which could be conveniently occupied, he introduced
ve thousand infantry and cavalry. Still in so exposed a vaUey
jie stratagem might be discovered by the incautious movement
' a single soldier, or by the gleam of arms, and he therefore
|nt a few troops at early dawn to occupy the hill mentioned
i;fore, and so to distract the attention of the enemy. To see

96 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. them was to conceive at once a contempt for their scant;
numbers. Every man begged for the task of dislodging th(
enemy and occupying the place. Conspicuous among thes(
senseless braggarts was the general himself, as he called his mei
to arms and assailed the enemy with idle threats. First he sen
his light troops, then his cavalry in close array ; at last seeing tha
the enemy were receiving reinforcements, he advanced with hii
legions in order of battle.

Hannibal, too, as the conflict waxed fiercer and his troop;
were hard pressed, sent again and again infantry and cavalr;
to their support, till his line of battle was complete, and botl
sides were fighting with their whole strength. First of all th(
Roman light-armed troops, attacking, as they did, from belov
an, elevation already occupied, were repulsed and thrust back
carrying panic with them into the cavalry behind and flying til
they reached the standards of the legions. It was the infantr)
that alone stood firm amidst the rout and seemed likely, i:
once they had had to fight a regular battle in face of the enemy
to be quite a match for him. The successful action of a few
days before had given them abundance of courage ; but the am-
bushed troops unexpectedly rose upon them, charged them on
the flank and in the rear, and spread such confusion and panic
that they lost all heart for fighting and all hope of escape.

29. Fabius first heard the cry of terror ; then saw from afai
the broken lines. " It is true,'' he cried, " disaster has overtaker
" rashness, but not sooner than I feared. They made hin
" equal to Fabius, but he sees that Hannibal is his superior botl
** in courage and in good fortune. Another time, howev^er, wil
" do for angry reproof and censure ; now advance the standard;!
" beyond the rampart. Let us wring from the enemy hi I
" victory, from our countrymen the confession of error." |'

Fabius hurries Many had already fallen and many were looking for the chanof
to the rescue and to fly, when the armv of Fabius, as suddenly as if it had droppeil

save} mm. ^ ' "^ ^i^ ^

from heaven, appeared to help them. Before javelins we
thrown or swords crossed, it checked the Romans in their he
long flight, the enemy in the fierce eagerness of their attac
Where the ranks had been broken and the men scattered hithi
and thither, they hurried from all sides to the unbroken line!
larger bodies had retreated together, these now wheeled rounj

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 97

) face the enemy and formed square, sometimes slowly retiring, book xxii.

ametimes standing in firm and close array. By the time that

le beaten army and the unbroken army had all but combined

ito a single force and were advancing against the enemy,

lannibal gave the signal for retreat, thus openly confessing

lat, as he had conquered Minucius, so he had himself been

orsted by Fabius.

Returning to the camp late on this day of checkered fortune, Minucius
linucius assembled his troops. '' Soldiers," he said, '' I ^^"-'^ ^ujfefhu^er^r.
often heard that the best man is he who can tell us himself
what is the right thing ; that next comes he who listens to good
advice ; and that he who cannot advise himself or submit to
another, has the meanest capacity of all. Since the best bless-
ing of heart and understanding has been denied us, let us
hold fast that next best gift which is between the two, and while
we learn to rule, make up our minds to obey the wise. Let us
join our camp to the camp of Fabius. When we have carried
our standards to his head-quarters, and I have given him the
title of parent, so well deserved by the service which he has
Idone us, and by his high position, you, my soldiers, will salute
jas the authors of your freedom the men whose right hands and
jswords lately saved you. So this day will give us, if nothing
'else, yet at least the credit of having grateful hearts."

30. The signal was given, and proclamation made to collect He joins

Fabtus.

camp equipage. Then they started and marched in regular
ray to the dictator's camp, inuch to his wonder and that of
tpse who stood round him. When the standards were set up
['ore the hustings, the master of the horse stepped forward
called Fabius by the name of " father," while the whole
jay saluted as " authors of their freedom " the soldiers as
tly stood grouped around their commander. " Dictator," he
83i, " I have put thee on a level with my parents by this name,
**Hd it is all that speech can do ; but while I owe to them life

illy, to thee I owe the safety of myself and of all these. There-
re I am the first to reject and repeal that decree which has
[Cn to me a burden rather than an honour, and praying that
"Ijis act may be prospered to thee and me and to these thy
^mies, the preserver and the preserved alike, I pftt myself
"^ain under thy command and fortunes, and restore to thee

I H

LIVY.

BOOK XXII. " these standards and legions. Forgive us, I pray, and allc
" me to keep my mastership of the horse, and each of these hi
" several rank."

There was a general clasping of hands ; and when th
assembly was dismissed, the soldiers were kindly and hospitabl
invited by strangers as well as friends. Thus a day which bi
a few hours before had been full of sorrow and almost (
unspeakable disaster became a day of merriment. In Rom(
as soon as the news of this incident arrived, followed an
confirmed by letters, not only from the generals but from man
persons in either army, every one joined in extolling Maximu
to the skies. Hannibal and the Carthaginians equally admire
him. They felt at last that it was with Romans and in Ital
that they were fighting. For the last two years they had s
despised both the generals and the soldiers of Rome that the
could scarcely believe themselves to be fighting with that sam
people of whom they had heard so terrible a report from thei
fathers. Hannibal, too, they say, exclaimed, as he was returnin;
from the field, " At last the cloud which has been dwelling si
long upon the hills, has burst upon us in storm and rain."
Defeat of the 31- While these events were occurring in Italy, the consu

^^"tiucmstof Cneius Servilius Geminus, with a fleet of one hundred anc
twenty ships sailed round the coasts of Sardinia and Corsica
received hostages from both islands, and then crossed over t
Africa. Before landing on the mainland, he ravaged the islan
of Menige,* and received ten talents of silver from the inhab
tants of Cercina,f as a consideration for not devastating the]
territory also. He then passed over to the African coast an]
landed his forces. The soldiers and seamen were now taken tj
ravage the country, and dispersed themselves just as if
were plundering an uninhabited island. This recklessness
them into ambuscades ; they were straggling, and the enel
was compact ; they knew nothing of the country, and the enei
knew it well : finally they were driven back to their ships wi
heavy loss and great disgrace. As many as a thousand md
and among them the quaestor' Sempronius Biaesus, perishfl
The fleet then hurriedly leaving a coast crowded with fo
sailed to Sicily, and was handed over at Lilyba^um % to the praetj
Titos Otacilius, whose second in command, Publius Sura, wj

A/rica.

* Jerbah.
t Karkineh.

\ Marsala.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

99

) take it back to Rome. The consul himself went overland
iroiigh Sicily, and crossed the strait to Italy. A despatch from
"abius had summoned him and his colleague, Marcus Atilius,
lat they might take his army off his hands, as his six months'
ommand was now nearly at an end.

Almost all the annalists relate that Fabius was dictator when
e conducted his campaign against Hannibal. Coelius adds
[lat he was the first dictator created by the people. But it has
scaped Coelius and the other writers that the surviving consul,
'neius Servilius, who was then far away in the province of Gaul,
lone had the right of naming a dictator ; that the couatry,
error-stricken by disaster, would not endure the delay, and had
ecourse to the plan of creating by popular election a pro-
iictator ; and that his achievements, the great distinction that
le won as a general, and an exaggerated account of his honours
n after generations, easily led to the belief that he had been
lictator, when really he had been but pro-dictator.

32. Atilius took command of the army of Fabius, and

peminus Servilius of that of Minucius. They fortified their

(inter-camp in good time, and were thoroughly agreed in

pploying the tactics of Fabius for what was left of the autumn

jampaign. Whenever Hannibal sallied out to collect supplies,

luey were ready to meet him at this place and at that ; they

jarassed his march, they cut off stragglers ; but the hazard of a

jeneral engagement, which the enemy sought in every possible

lay to bring on, they declined. Hannibal was reduced to such

treme want, that he would have gone back to Gaul, but that

s retreat would have looked like a flight, and he had no hope

supporting his army in this country; were the next consuls

follow the same tactics.

When winter had brought the war to a standstill at
jereonium, envoys from Naples came to Rome. They brought
|to the Senate House forty very heavy bowls of gold, and spoke
j the following effect : " We know that the treasury of the
■Roraan people is being exhausted by the war. Seeing then
"jhat you are fighting just as much for the cities and lands
'i)f the allies as for the capital and citadel of Italy, Rome, and
Vour own empire, the men of Naples hold it right to give to
lie help of the Roman people the gold which has been left

H 2

BOOK XXII.

He returns to

take the

command 0/

Fabius' s army.

Question
whether
Fabius could
have been pro-
perly appointed
dictator.

The new

commanders

follow the

tactics of

Fabius,

Naples sends

gifts, and

promises help to

Rome.

LIVY.

BOOK XXII. " them by their ancestors alik& for the adornment of thei
" temples, or for a reserve in case of need. Had we though
" that our own services were of any worth, we should hav
" offered them with the same readiness. The Senate ani
" people of Rome will best please us by looking on all th
" possessions of the men of Naples as their own, and by deignin;
" to receive from them a gift to which the goodwill of those wh
" freely offer it rather than its actual magnitude, gives greatnes
"and dignity." The envoys were thanked for their munificenc
and zeal, and the lightest of the bowls was accepted.

33. About this time a Carthaginian spy who had eludei
capture for two years was caught in Rome and dismissed wit!
his hands lopped off. Twenty-five slaves were crucified fo
having conspired in the Campus Martius, the informer beinj
* About ^170. rewarded with his liberty and twenty thousand sesterces.* Ai
The Romans embassy was sent to Philip, king of Macedon, to demand th(
fo^Macedonand extradition of Dcmctrius of Pharos, who had taken refuge witl
other countries, hj^:^ after his defeat ; another to the Ligures to expostulate witl
them for helping the Carthaginians with money and men, anc
also to observe from the immediate neighbourhood what was
going on among the Boii and the Insubres. . Envoys also wen
sent to king Pineus in lUyria to demand the tribute, the tim(
for which had expired, or, if he wished payment to be post
poned, to receive hostages. Crushing as was the pressure 0
the war upon our shoulders, yet nothing in any country, howevej
remote, escaped the diligent care of Rome. Religious scrupl?i
also arose because the Temple of Concord which the pr£etoi'
Lucius Manlius, had vowed two years before in Gaul on th|
occasion of a mutiny, had not been contracted for up to th£[
time. Two commissioners, Caius Pupius and Casso Ouinctiu
Flamininus, were appointed for the purpose by Marcus ^mili^
praetor of the city, and contracted for the building of the temj
in the citadel.

This same praetor also in obedience to a resolution of the Senatj
sent letters to the consuls to the effect that if they thought 1
one of them should come to Rome to appoint new consuls, acj
that any day they might wish should be fixed for the electiouj
The consuls replied that they could not without damage to t)I
public interests leave the neighbourhood of the enemy, and thj

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

elections.

Sharp strije

het-iveoi the

nobles ami the

commons.

B.c 2l6.

herefore the elections should be held by an interrex in pre- book xxii.

erence to calling away either of the consuls from the seat of

var. It seemed to the Senate more in order that a dictator a dictator

hould be named by the consul for the purpose of holding the "'^^ttfofJuilf^

lection. Lucius Veturius Philo was so named, and appointed

(lanius Pomponius Matho his master of the horse. There

ms some legal flaw in these appointments, and they were

rdered fourteen days afterwards to abdicate their offices, and

n interregnum was the result.

34. The consuls had their command prolonged for a year.
"he Senate named as interrex first Caius Claudius Cento, son of
Lppius of that name, and after him, Publius Cornelius Asina.
)uring the latter's term of office the elections were held, and
ercely contested between patricians and plebeians. The lower
rders were striving to elevate to the consulship Caius Terentius
'^arro, a man of their own class, who had ingratiated himself
,'ith them by his invectives against the nobles and the arts
/hich win popularity, and who, since the shock which he had
iven to the position and power of the dictator f'abius, had
bund in another man's unpopularity a certain distinction for
imself. The patricians opposed him with all their might,
Uring lest men should find in such attacks a common road to
juality. Quintus Baebius Herennius, tribune of the commons,
jkinsman of Varro, inveighed not only against the Senate, but
so against the augurs, because they had forbidden the dictator

complete the elections, seeking at their expense that which
ight win favour for his own candidate. " It is the nobles,"
: cried, "eager for war as they have long been, who brought
'Hannibal into Italy ; it is they who, when the struggle might
'^e ended, wickedly prolong the war. When it had been
'proved by the success of Minucius during the absence of
'l^abius that four legions combined could fight with advan-
' age, two legions were sent for the enemy to slaughter, and
' hen, rescued from slaughter, to gain the titles of father and
"'rotector for the man who kept the Romans from victory
"'efore he kept them from defeat. After this the consuls
'*')llo\ved the tactics of Fabius and protracted the war which
"ley might have finished. This is the compact which all the
"jobles have made among themselves ; we shall not see the

I02 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. "end of the war till we raise to tKe consulship a real plebeian
" that is, a man from the ranks ; for our plebeian nobility hav
" now been initiated into the patrician religious ritual, and hav
'• learnt to despise the commons ever since they ceased to b
" despised by the patricians. Who does not see that their ain
" and object has been to bring about an interregnum, that th
" elections may Be controlled by the patricians ? This was wha
" the consuls had in view in lingering with the army ; this wa
" the reason why, when they had reluctantly named a dictato
" to conduct the elections, they had fought hard to get thi
" dictator's appointment pronounced irregular by the augurs
" They have their interregnum then ; but one consulship cer
" tainly belongs to the commons of Rome ; the people woul(
" use it freely and give it to the man who would prefer to wii
" an early victory than to hold a long command."

35. With such oratory the commons were wrought to fury

Three patricians were candidates, Publius Cornelius Merenda

Lucius Manlius Vulso, Marcus ^milius Lepidus, and two meno

ennobled plebeian families, Caius Atilius Serranus, and Quintui

Terentius Varro ^lius Paetus, One of whom was pontiff and the other augur, bu

Paulus elected the single consul elected was Caius Terentius, who had there
consids. £Qj.g ^Q pi-eside over the election of a colleague. By this tim(
the nobles had found that their candidates were not stronj
enough. They induced Lucius vEmilius Paulus, after a Ion
and earnest resistance, to stand. He had been consul wii
Marcus Livius, and had escaped half ruined from the cor
demnation which had overtaken his colleague and himself, an
he was no friend to the commons. On the next election da;
all Varro's opponents retiring, ^milius was appointed rath*
as a rival to thwart him than as a colleague. The election •
praetors was next held ; Manius Pomponius Matho and Publj
Furius Philus were appointed. To Philus was allotted the joij
diction of prsetor of the city ; to Pomponius the jurisdict
over causes between citizens and aliens. Two more praetd
were appointed, Marcus Claudius Marcellus for Sicily, ail
Lucius Postumius Albinus for Gaul. All these magistrates wfil
appointed in their absence. Not one, except the consj
Terentius, had any office committed to him which he had rj
held before, and not a few gallant and energetic men were pass I

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

103

ver, because at such a crisis it was thought that no one should
e trusted with an office to which he was new.

36. The armies also were increased. But as to what addi-
ional forces of infantry and cavalry were raised, my authorities
ary so much, both as to the number and the class of troops,
hat I have not ventured to speak with any certainty. Some say
hat ten thousand fresh troops were levied by way of reinforce-
ment ; others that four new legions were enrolled, so that there
hould be an available force of eight legions ; they say also
hat the number of the infantry and the cavalry in each legion
,'as augmented, a thousand foot and a hundred horse being added
3 each, so that a legion now had five thousand foot and three
undred horse, the allies supplying double the number of cavalry
nd the same number of infantry. It is affirmed by some writers
hat there were eighty-seven thousand two hundred armed men
n the Roman camp when Cannee was fought. All indeed
gree that things were done with more vigour and ehergy than
11 former years, because the dictator had given them the hope
hat the enemy might be conquered.

But before the new legions marched from Rome, the College
f the Ten were directed to consult and examine the Sacred Books
n account of the general terror which certain new portents
ad caused. It was declared that both at Rome, on Mount
[.ventine, and at Aricia,* and at the same hour, there had fallen
shower of stones ; that statues in the Sabine country had
jripped plentifully with blood, and that cold water had flowed
om a hot spring. And indeed the frequent repetition of this
3rtent was peculiarly alarming. In the vaulted street which
ped to lead to the Campus several men were struck and killed
y' lightning. These portents were expiated as the Books
irected. Envoys from Paestum brought bowls of gold to
jome. They received a vote of thanks, as had the people of
japles, but the gold was not accepted.

1 37. About the same time there arrived at Ostia a fleet from
jng Hiero with a great supply of provisions. The envoys were
^troduced into the Senate and spoke to this effisct : " The news
Vf the destruction of the consul Caius Flaminius and his army
Was so grievous to King Hiero that he could not have been
Inore troubled by any disaster to himself and his realm. And

BOOK XXII.

Larger armies
raised.

The Sibylline
books again
consulted.

La Riccir.

King Hiero
sends aid to
the Romans.

I04 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. " SO, though he is well aware that the greatness of the Roman
" people is almost more worthy of admiration in disaster than in
" success, yet he has sent everything with which good and loyal
" allies are wont to supply the needs of war, and he earnestly
" entreats the Senate not to refuse to accept them. First of all,
" for good fortune's sake, we bring a golden statue of Victory,
" weighing two hundred and twenty pounds. Accept it, and
" keep it, and reckon it as your own for ever. We have also
" brought three hundred thousand pecks of wheat, and two hun-
" dred thousand of barley, lest supplies should fail you, and we
" will bring in all that you want besides to any point you may
" command. The king knows that the Roman people use no
" infantry or cavalry that is not Roman, or of the Latin nation,
" yet he has seen in the camps of Rome light-armed troops even
" of foreign race. He has sent, therefore, a thousand archers
" and slingers, a force well fitted to cope with the islanders and
" Moors and other tribes who fight with missiles." The envoys
added the suggestion that the przetor commanding in Sicily
should cross over with a fleet to Africa. The enemy, with war
in their own borders, would be less free to send reinforcements
to Hannibal.

The Senate replied that Hiero was an honest man and
an admirable ally, who had been consistently loyal fron:
the day that he became the friend of the Roman people, an;
had munificently helped the commonwealth of Rome at al
times and in all places. This loyalty was as dear to the Romai
people as it deserved to be. They had not accepted the golc
that had been offered by certain nations, though they acceptec
the kindness of the act. But they did accept, for good fortune'
sake, the statue of Victory, and gave and consecrated to th
goddess a seat in the Capitol, the temple of Almighty and mo-
merciful Jupiter. " Solemnly established of her own goodwij
"and pleasure in that citadel of Rome, she will ever be firm ani
" steadfast to the Roman people." The slingers, the archers, a^
the corn were handed over to the consuls. Twenty-five ships j
five banks of oars were added to the fleet of one hundred aj
twenty sail, which Titus Otacilius, the pro-praetor, had in Sici^
and leave was given him to cross over to Africa, if he thou^
it for the public advantage.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

105

38. The consuls, after completing their levy, delayed their
departure a few days till the soldiers from the allies and the
Latin nation should come in. Then — a thing never done
before — the troops had the oath of allegiance administered to
them by the tribunes of the soldiers. Up to that time there had
been nothing but the obligation to assemble at the bidding of
the consuls and not to depart without their leave, and the custom,
when they were formed into their companies of a hundred and
their troops of ten, that the infantry soldiers of each company
and the horsemen of each troop swore to each other "that they
" would not leave their fellows for fear's sake or flight, nor quit
" their ranks except to take up or seek a weapon, to strike a foe,
" or to save a friend." From a voluntary agreement among
themselves this was now changed into an oath regularly
administered by the tribunes.

Before the army left Rome, the consul Varro delivered

several fierce harangues, in which he declared that on the very

day on which he saw the enemy he would finish this war, which,

brought as it had been into Italy by the nobles, would cling

to the vitals of the commonwealth, if it had more generals such

lis Fabius. His colleague Paulus spoke once, and that on the day

before he left the city, with words that were more true than

[velcome. He said nothing harsh against Varro, except this

!)nly, that he wondered how a general without knowing anything

)f his own or the enemy's army, of the nature of the ground, or

'he geography of the country, could be sure, while he was still a

jivihan in the city, what he would have to do when he was a

oldier, and could even predict the day on which he would give

attle to his foe. As for himself, seeing that circumstances

etermine plans, rather than plans circumstances, he would in-

julge in no premature anticipations, and would hope that action

iiutiously and deliberately conducted would end in success.

jashness, besides its folly, was in this conjuncture peculiarly

lifortunate. Evident as it was that Paulus would voluntarily

efcr counsels of safety to counsels of haste, Quintus Fabius

inus, wishing to strengthen him in this resolve, thus

Luressed him, it is said, on the eve of his departure :

I 39- " Had you a colleague like yourself, Lucius ^milius —

ind I would that it were so !— or were you like your colleague,

BOOK XXII.

Raising of the
levies.

Varro' s boasts

be/ore leaving

Rome.

Feeling of
Paulus.

Warning words
0/ Fabius.

io6 LIVY.

BOOK XXI] . 'my words would be superfluous. Were both of you good men,
•'you would do all that the common weal and your own honour
" demanded ; were both of you bad men, you would neither
" listen to my words nor lay my counsels to heart. As it is, when
" I see what your colleague is, and what you are, I speak, and
" speak only to you, whose valour and patriotism must, I see, be
" all in vain if one half of the commonwealth be helpless and
" evil counsels have the same weight and authority as good. You
"are mistaken, Paulus, if you think that you will not have to con-
" tend quite as much with Terentius as with Hannibal. I do not
" know whether you will not find this opponent more dangerous
" to you than that open enemy. With the one you will contend
" in the battle-field only ; with the other in every place, at every
'' time. Against Hannibal and his legions, you will fight with your
" infantry and your cavalry ; Varro, when in command, will assail
" you with your own troops. Heaven forbid that I should trouble
"you with the sinister recollection of Flaminius. Yet, when he
" was consul, it was only in his command and in the army that
" he began to show his insanity ; this man, before he stood for
" the consulship, while he was standing for it, and now that he is
" consul, before he has seen the camp or the enemy, has played
"and is playing the madman. If he could raise such storms!
" among our civilians by bragging of battle and battle -fields, what
" think you, will he do with armed men — young men, remember-
" in circumstances where action follows immediately on speech
'' Yet if he shall give battle forthwith, as he declares he will dc
" then either I know nothing of soldiership, of this kind of war, an;
" of this enemy, or some other place will be made yet more famoUj
" than Trasumennus by our disasters. This is no time for boasti
" when you only are here, and I, if I err, would rather err in
" spising than in seeking fame ; but this is the simple trulj
''There is but one method of fighting with Hannibal, and tt
" is the method which I followed. It is not only results
" show us this (fools are taught by results), but a reasonii
"which has remained and must remain unchanged as long
" circumstances shall continue the same. It is in Italy we
" fighting, in our own home, on our native soil ; countrymen atl
"allies are everywhere about us ; they help and will help uswij
" arms, men, horses, provisions (this proof of their loyalty thl

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 107

" have already given us in our adversity), while time makes us book xxii.
" continually better, wiser, more steadfast. Hannibal, on the
"other hand, is in a strange, a hostile country, where all is
"adverse and unfriendly, far from his home and native
" land. Neither by land nor sea can he find peace ; no
"cities, no fortified places receive him; he sees nothing any-
" where to call his own ; he lives from day to day on what
" he steals. Scarce a third of the army with which he crossed
" the Ebro'is left to him. He has lost more by hunger than by
" the sword, and for the few that remain he has not food enough.
" Do you doubt, then, that by sitting still we shall conquer a man
" who grows feebler every day, who has neither provisions nor
"reinforcements nor money.-' How long has he been sitting
"before the walls of Gereonium, a poor fort in Apulia, as if they
"were the walls of Carthage? But even before you I will not
" boast of myself. See how the last consuls, Cneius Servilius and
" Atilius played with him. This is the one path of safety, Paulus,
" and thus it is your own countrymen, rather than the enemy,
" who will make it difficult and dangerous for you. True, our own
" soldiers will have the same wish as the enemy, and Varro,
" Roman consul as he is, will desire exactly what Hannibal
"the Carthaginian general desires. Singly you must resist
" the two commanders. And you will resist, if you stand really
"firm against both popular opinion and idle rumour, if neither
" the foolish vainglorying of your colleague nor your own un-
" deserved disgrace shall move you. Truth, they say, is too often
" eclipsed, but never extinguished. He who spurns false glory,
" shall possess the true. Let them call you coward when you
"are cautious, dilatory when you are deliberate, no soldier
" when you show true soldiership. I had rather that a skilful
" enemy should fear than that a foolish friend should praise you.
"The man who dares all risks, Hannibal will despise ; the man
j' who does nothing rashly, he will fear. I do not advise you to
r do nothing ; I advise you, whatever you do, let reason, not
r fortune, guide you. Always keep yourself and your forces
r under your own control. Be always prepared, always on the
j' watch. Never miss your own opportunity ; never give an oppor-
'' tunity to the enemy. He who will not hurry, will find all things
ir, all things certain. Haste is both improvident and blind."

io8 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. 40. The consul's reply was by no means in a cheerful tone.
Reply of Pauius ^^ allowed that what Fabius said was true, but not that it
was easy to put into practice. A dictator had found his master
of the horse unmanageable. What power and influence would
a consul have to resist a turbulent and headstrong colleague ?
" In my first consulship," said Pauius, " I escaped, half consumed,
" out of the fire of popular fury ; I wish that all things may turn
" out well. If any disaster befall us, I shall sooner trust my life
" to the weapons of the enemy than to the votes of my enraged
" fellow-citizens."

It was, they say, with these words on his lips that Pauius set
out. He was attended by the leading patricians, the plebeian
consul, by his own plebeian adherents, more conspicuously
honoured by numbers than by worth. When they reached the
camp, the old army was combined with the new ; two camps
were formed, the newer and weaker being nearer to Hannibal,
while the first retained the greater part of the army and all
the best troops. Marcus Atilius, consul of the last year, pleaded
his age, and was sent back to Rome ; Geminus Servilius was
set to command in the smaller camp a Roman legion and two
thousand cavalry and infantry of the allies. Hannibal, though
Hannibal wishes perceiving that the hostile forces were half as large again as
general before, was yet marvellously delighted at the arrival of the consuls.
engage7nent. ]sjq^ Qj^jy ^^^ there nothing left out of the plunder that every day
brought in, but there was not even a place remaining to be
plundered ; all the corn had been carried into fortified towns a^
soon as the country grew unsafe, so that, as was afterwari
discovered, scarce ten days' supply of corn remained, and thj
Spaniards had arranged to desert from sheer hunger, if only ti
Romans could have waited for their full opportunity.

41. Chance gave encouragement to the rash and impetuoi

temper of the consul in a confused skirmish that began in ai

attempt to drive off some plunderers, followed by a hasty rush

the soldiers without preparation or orders from their commander:

and the fortune of the day went against the Carthaginians,

many as seventeen hundred fell ; of the Romans and allies n

The Romans "''oi'^ than a hundred were killed. The consul Pauius, wh«

are victorious] vvas in Command that day (the two consuls commanded alter

skirmish. natcly), checked the wild pursuit of the conquerors, amids

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 109

wrathful protestations from Varro, that they were letting the book xxii.
enemy slip out of their hands, and that he might have been
thoroughly beaten had they not paused. Hannibal was not
much distressed at this loss. He rather believed that it would be,
so to speak, a bait to the rashness of the headstrong consul and
of the new soldiers especially. He knew quite as much about
his foe as he did about his own troops ; he knew that two
men wholly unlike and without unity of purpose were in com-
mand, and that nearly two-thirds of the army were recruits.
It seemed to him that both time and place favoured a
stratagem. Making his soldiers carry with them nothing but their Hannibal lays a
arms, he quitted his camp, leaving it full of property both public ^^"'^ ^'^ *^^^"''
and private. He drew up his infantry in concealment behind
the hills on his left, and his cavalry on the right ; and made
the baggage pass up. the valley between, hoping to surprise
the Romans while their thoughts and hands were busied with
the plunder of a camp which seemed to have been deserted by
the sudden flight of its occupants. Many fires were left in the
camp, intended to create the impression that he had wished to
keep the consuls where they were, till he had got a long start in
Jiis retreat, just as he had deceived Fabius the year before.
j 42. When day broke, the Rornans saw with astonishment, first,
jhat the pickets were withdrawn, and then when they approached
[he camp, that there was an unusual stillness. As soon as they
vere quite certain that it was deserted, there was a rush to the
headquarters of the consul, and a cry that the enemy had fled
fli such haste that they had abandoned their camp with the tents
tanding, and that to conceal their retreat, many fires had been
eft burning. A loud shout was set up that the consuls should
It once order an advance and lead them to pursue the enemy,
Ind forthwith plunder the camp. One of the consuls was nothing
letter than one of the mob of soldiers. Paulus said again and Caution of
'gain that they must be prudent and cautious. At last, seeing
0 other way of holding his own against the mutineers and
icir leader, he sent MariusStatilius with a Lucanian troop of
)rse under his command to reconnoitre.

Riding up to the gates and bidding the rest remain outside the
iies, Marius and two others entered the entrenchments, and after
jirefuUy surveying every point, brought back word that there was

no LIVY.

BOOK XXII. certainly some hidden danger ; that the fires that had been left
were on the side of the camp nearest to the Romans, the tents
were open and everything of value was left perfectly acces-
sible ; that he had even seen silver strewn at random in some
places along the paths, as if to invite plunder. What was
intended to restrain the soldiers from their greed of gain, only
inflamed them. A shout arose that if the signal was not given
they would go without their generals ; but there was a general
forthcoming, for Varro immediately gave the signal to start.
Paulus, whose own wish was for delay, heard that the auguries of
the sacred chicken did not sanction an advance, and bade the
fact be communicated to Varro just as he was marching out of the
camp-gates. Varro was greatly vexed, but the recent disaster of
Flaminius and the famous defeat of the consul Claudius in the
first Punic war, had impressed religious fears upon his mind. I
may almost say that Heaven itself that day postponed rather than
averted the doom that was hanging over the Romans. It so
happened that while the consul was bidding the soldiers retire
into the camp and they were refusing to obey him, two slave
* MoladiGaeta attendants, one belonging to a trooper from Formise* and the
other to a trooper from Sidicinum, who had been captured amon|
- the foragers by the Numidians when Servilius and Atilius wer
consuls, that day escaped to their old masters. They we
brought to the consuls and told them that the whole army i
Hannibal lay in ambush behind the hills. Their opportuni
arrival restored the authority of the consuls, though one consul
bent as he was on popularity, had by an unprincipled indulgencf
impaired the dignity of his office.
Hannibal 43. Hannibal saw that the Romans had indeed move^

°of^sitp/iies^to rashly, but were not yet venturing the last desperate risk, anci
^'cannce'in ^^ returned, now that his stratagem was discovered, disappointe(j
Apulia. to his camp. He could not remain there many days as pro'
visions were running short. Every day new plans suggestei
themselves, not only among his troops, a miscellaneous crowC|
the refuse of the world, but to the general himself. Murmurt
that soon grew into loud clamours had been heard, demanda||}|
overdue pay, and complaints first of scanty rations and thef'
of absolute famine ; rumours had spread that the mercenarie:)
the Spaniards especially, had talked of changing sides, an

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

Hannibal himself was said to have sometimes had thoughts of BOOK xxil.

■etreating into Gaul, hurrying away with his cavalry, but leaving

ill his infantry behind. Such being the plans discussed and

such the temper prevailing in the camp, he resolved to move

nto Apulia, a warmer country, where the harvest would be

i;arlier ; the greater too his distance from the enemy, the more

iifficult would desertion be for the weaker spirits in his army.

He started during the night, leaving, as he had done before, a

Few fires and tents to deceive the enemy. Fear of some such

stratagem as before would, he hoped, keep them where they

were. But when after a thorough exploration of all the

country beyond the camp, and on the other side of the hills, by

Statilius,the Lucanian officer mentioned already, it was reported

that the hostile army had been seen in the distance, the question

of pursuit was at once debated. The two consuls adhered to The Romans

Sheir former opinions, but as nearly all voted with Varro, and -^^ ^"'
10 one, except the ex-consul Servilius, with Paulus, the judg-
nent of the majority prevailed, and the army moved out, to
ake Cannae, for so destiny would have it, famous for ever
yr a great Roman defeat. Hannibal had pitched his camp
jiear that village, so as not to face the wind called Vulturnus,
|vhich, blowing across plains parched with drought, carries with
clouds of dust. The arrangement was most convenient for
|he camp, and was afterwards found to be of similar advantage
hen they marshalled their troops for battle. Their own faces
ere turned away and the wind did but blow on their backs,
hile the enemy with whom they were to fight was blinded by
olumes of dust.

I 44. The consuls, after duly reconnoitring the roads, fol-

' "cd the Carthaginians till they reached Cannae, where they

the enemy in sight. They then entrenched and fortified

A 0 camps, separating their forces by about the same distance

*5 before at Gereonium. The river Aufidus,* which flowed

both camps, furnished water to both armies, the soldiers

coaching as they most conveniently could, not, however,

lout some skirmishing. From the smaller camp, which

aI been pitched on the further side of the Aufidus, the

jmans procured water with less difficulty, as the opposite

k was not held by any hostile force. Hannibal saw his hope

Both armies

eiicajnp near

Cannce.

Ofanto.

112 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. accomplished, that the consuls would offer battle on ground
made for the action of cavalry, in which arm he was invincible.
He drew up his men, and sought to provoke his foe by
throwing forward his Numidian troopers. Then the Roman
camp was once more disturbed by mutiny among the troops

Difference of and disagreement between the consuls. Paulus taunted Varro
'"^Hircoitds"' with the rashness of Sempronius and Flaminius ; Varro re-
proached Paulus with copying Fabius, an example attractive to
timid and indolent commanders, and called both gods and men
to witness that it was no fault of his if Hannibal had now a
prescriptive possession of Italy. " I," said he, " have my hands
" tied and held fast by my colleague. My soldiers, furious and
" eager to fight, are stripped of their swords and arms." Paulus
declared that if any disaster befell the legions recklessly thrown
and betrayed into battle without deliberation or forethought, he
would share all their fortunes, while holding himself free from
all blame. " Let Varro look to it that they whose tongues were
" so ready and so bold, had hands equally vigorous in the day
" of battle."

Skirmishing 45. While they thus wasted the time in disputing rather

^"^'ZTJks!^"" than in deliberating, Hannibal, who had kept his lines drawn u;
till late in the day, called back the rest of his troops into hil
camp, but sent forward the Numidian cavalry across the river ti
attack the water-parties from the smaller of the two Roma:
camps. Coming on with shouting and uproar they sent thi
undisciplined crowd flying before they had even reached th
bank, and rode on till they came on an outpost statiom
before the rampart and close to the very camp-gates. S
scandalous did it seem that a Roman camp should be alarmed
by some irregular auxiliaries that the only circumstance
which hindered the Romans from immediately crossing the
river and forming their line of battle was, that the supreme
command that day rested with Paulus. But the next da)
Varro, without consulting his colleague, gave the signal t(
engage, and drawing up his forces led them across the river
Paulus followed him ; he could withhold his sanction from th(
movement, but not his support. The river crossed, they joined t(
their own the forces retained by them in the smaller camp, am
then formed their lines. On the right wing (the one nea

ii

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

Hannibal
array.

the river) they posted the Roman cavalry and next the infantry, book xxil.

On the extreme flank of the left wing were the allied cavalry,

next the allied infantry, side by side with the Roman legions in

the centre. Slingers and other light-armed auxiliaries made up

the first line. Paulus commanded the left wing ; Varro the

right ; Geminius Serviilus had charge of the centre.

46. At dawn Hannibal, sending in advance his slingers and
light-armed troops, crossed the river, assigning each division
its position as it crossed. His Gallic and Spanish cavalry he
posted near the river bank on the left wing, facing the Roman
horse ; the right wing was assigned to the Numidian cavalry ;
the centre showed a strong force of infantry, having on either
side the African troops, with the Gauls and Spaniards between
them. These Africans might have been taken for a Roman
force ; so largely were they equipped with weapons taken
at Trebia, and yet more at Trasumennus. The Gauls and
Spaniards had shields of very nearly the same shape, but their
swords were widely different in size and form, the Gauls having
ithem very long and pointless, while the Spaniards, who were ac-
jcustomed to assail the enemy with thrusts rather than with blows,
^ad them short, handy, and pointed. These nations had a
jspecially terrible appearance, so gigantic was their stature, and
i50 strange their look. The Gauls were naked above the navel ;
i:he Spaniards wore tunics of linen bordered with purple, of a
Whiteness marvellously dazzling. The total number of the in-
fantry who were that day ranged in line, was forty thousand,
[hat of the cavalry ten thousand. Hasdrubal commanded the
left wing ; Maharbal the right ; Hannibal himself, with his
brother Mago, was in the centre. The sun — whether the troops
Ivere purposely so placed, or whether it was by chance— fell very
onveniently sideways on both armies, the Romans facing
pe south, the Carthaginians the north. The wind (called
Fulturnus by the natives of those parts) blew straight against
pe Romans and whirled clouds of dust into their faces till they
jould see nothing.

[ 47. With a loud shout the auxiliaries charged, the light
;Oops thus beginning the battle. Next the Gallic and Spanish
|orse of the left wing encountered the right wing of the Romans,
he fight was not at all like a cavalry engagement ; they had

I

The battle.

114

LIVY.

BOOK xxil. to meet face to face ; there was no room for manoeuvring,
shut in as they were by the river on one side and the lines of
infantry on the other. Both sides pushed straight forward till,
with their horses brought to a stand and crowded together in a
mass, each man seized his antagonist and strove to drag
him from his seat. The struggle now became mainly a
struggle of infantry ; but the conflict was rather fierce than
protracted. The Roman cavalry were defeated and put to flight.
Just before the encounter of the cavalry came to an end, the
fight between the infantry began. The two sides were well
matched in strength and courage, as long as the Gauls and
Spaniards kept their ranks unbroken ; at last the Romans,
after long and repeated efforts, sloped their front and
broke, by their deep formation, the enemy's column, which,
advanced as it was from the rest of the line, was shallow and
therefore weak. Pursuing the broken and rapidly retreating
foe, they made their way without a halt through the rout of
panic-stricken fugitives till they reached, first, the centre of the
line, and then, meeting with no check, the reserves of the
African troops. These had been stationed on the wings j
which had been somewhat retired, while the centre, where th^
Gauls and Spaniards had been posted, was proportionate^
advanced. As that column fell back, the line became level j
when they pushed their retreat, they made a hollow in th^
centre. The Africans now overlapped on either side, and as thd
Romans rushed heedlessly into the intervening space, they first
outflanked them and then, extending their own formation, actU'^
ally hemmed in their rear. Upon this the Romans, who hac
fought one battle to no purpose, quitted the Gauls and Spaniards.1
whose rear they had been slaughtering, and began a new conflict j
with the Africans, a conflict unfair, not only because they werej
shut in with foes all round them, but because they were wearied
while the enemy was fresh and vigorous.

48. On the left wing of the Romans the cavalry of the allien
had been posted against the Numidians. Here too battle hac
been joined, though with little spirit for a time, the first move
ment being a Carthaginian stratagem. Nearly five hundred Numi
dians who, besides their usual armour and missiles had sword
hidden under their cuirasses, rode out from their own line wit

Ml

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

"5

their shields slung behind their backs as though they had been BOOK xxii

deserters, leapt in haste from their horses and threw their shields

and javelins at the feet of the Romans. They were received

into the centre of the line, taken to the extreme rear, and bidden

to keep their place behind. While the battle spread from

place to place, they remained motionless ; but as soon as all

eyes and thoughts were intent on the conflict, they seized

the shields which lay scattered everywhere among the piles

of dead, and fell on the Roman line from the rear. They

wounded the backs and legs of the men, and, while they made

a great slaughter, spread far greater panic and confusion.

While there was terror and flight on the right, and in the centre

an obstinate resistance, though with little hope, Hasdrubal,

who was in command in this quarter, withdrew the Numidians

from the centre, seeing that they fought with but little spirit, and

jhaving sent them in all directions to pursue the enemy, reinforced

'with the Spanish and Gallic cavalry the African troops, wearied

las they now were with slaughter rather than with fighting.

49. Paulus was on the other side of the field. He had

been seriously wounded at the very beginning of the battle by

^ bullet from a sling, but yet he repeatedly encountered Hannibal

l^ith a compact body of troops, and at several points restored

jhe fortune of the day. He was protected by the Roman

pvalry, who at last sent away their horses when the consul

Became too weak to manage his charger. Some one told

jiannibal that the consul had ordered the cavalry to dismount.

[ He might better hand them over to me bound hand and foot,"

laid he. The horsemen fought on foot as men were likely to

ght, when, the victory of the enemy being beyond all doubt,

e vanquished preferred dying where they stood to flight, and

•le victors, furious with those who delayed their triumph,

aughtered the foes whom they could not move. Move them,

pwever, they did — that is a few survivors, exhausted with wounds

pd fatigue. All were then scattered, and such as were able

pught to recover their horses and fly. Cn. Lentulus, as he

ploped by, saw the consul sitting on a stone and covered

iith blood. " Lucius -^tmilius," he cried, " the one man whom

heaven must regard as guiltless of this day's calamity, take

this horse while you have some strength left, and I am here

I 2

Dc/cat 0/ the
Romans, with
the destruction
of the greater
part of their
army.

ii6

LIVY.

BOOK XXII. " to be with you, to lift you to the saddle, and to defend you.
" Do not make this defeat yet sadder by a consul's death.
" There is weeping and sorrow enough without this." The
consul replied, "'Tis a brave thought of thine, Cn. Cornelius ;
" but waste not the few moments you have for escaping from the
" enemy in fruitless pity. My public message to the senators
" is that they must fortify Rome and make its garrison as strong
" as may be before the victorious enemy arrives. My private
" message to Quintus Fabius is that Lucius ^milius remem-
" bered his teaching in life and death. As for me, let me breathe
" my last among my slaughtered soldiers. I would not again
" leave my consulship to answer for my life, nor would I stand
" up to accuse my colleague, and by accusing another protect my
" own innocence."

While they thus talked together, they were overtaken,
first by a crowd of Roman fugitives and then by the enemy.
These last buried the consul under a shower of javelins,
not knowing who he was. Lentulus galloped off in the con-
fusion. The Romans now fled wildly in every direction. Seven
thousand men escaped into the smaller, ten thousand into the
larger camp, ten thousand more into the village of Cannae itself.
These last were immediately surrounded by Carthalo and the
cavalry, for no fortification protected the place. The other
consul, who, whether by chance or of set purpose, had not
joined any large body of fugitives, fled with about five hundred
horsemen to Venusia.* Forty-five thousand five hundred in-
fantry, two thousand seven hundred cavalry, and almost as
many more citizens and allies are said to have fallen. Among
these were the quaestors of both consuls, Lucius Atilius and Furius
Bibaculus, twenty-nine tribunes of the soldiers, not a few ex-
consuls, ex-prcCtors, and ex-sediles (among them Cn. Servilius and
Marcus Minucius, who the year before had been the master of
the horse, and consul some years before that), eighty who were
either actual senators or had filled such offices as made them
eligible for the Senate, and who had volunteered to serve in the
legions. In this battle three thousand infantry and one thousand
five hundred cavalry are said to have been taken prisoners.

50. Such was the battle of Cannae, as famous as the disastei
at the AUia, and though less serious in its consequences, thanks

Venosa.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

117

Some escajie to
Canusium.

Canosa.

to the inaction of the enemy, yet in loss of men still more book xxii.
ruinous and disgraceful. The flight at the Allia lost the city
but saved the army ; at Cannae the consul who fled was followed
by barely fifty men ; with the consul who perished, perished
nearly the whole army.

The two camps held a defenceless crowd with no one to com-
mand them. The occupants of the larger camp sent a messenger
to their neighbours, suggesting that they should come over to
them, while night still kept the enemy wrapped in the profound
sleep that would follow battle and the joyous banquets of con-
querors ; they might then unite in one body and retreat to
Canusium.* Some wholly scorned the proposal. " Why," said
they, " do not the men who send for us come themselves, being
" just as well able to effect the junction as we ? The fact is
" that the whole space between is crowded with the enemy, and
" they had sooner expose the persons of others to this deadly
" peril than their own."

Others did not so much disapprove of the proposal as want

courage to execute it. Then cried Publius Sempronius Tuditanus,

a tribune of the soldiers, " Would you sooner be taken prisoners

" by this rapacious and cruel enemy, and have a price put

" on your heads and your value determined by enquiries as to

" whether you are Roman citizens or Latin allies, while others are

r winning honours out of the miseries and insults you endure ?

You would not suffer it, if you are fellow-countrymen of the con-

' sul, Lucius yEmilius, who chose to die with honour rather than

' live with disgrace, and of all those gallant citizens who He in

' heaps about him. Before day comes upon us, before larger

r forces of the enemy intercept our way, let us charge through

'' this disorderly and undisciplined foe that clamours at our gates.

Courage and the sword can force their way even through the

densest enemy. Your column can as easily scatter this loose

disorganised array as if it opposed no resistance. Come then

! with me, all you who wish yourselves and the commonwealth to

be in safety." Saying this, he drew his sword, formed a column,

k1 passed through the midst of the enemy. Seeing that the

umidians aimed at their right sides, which were exposed, they

langed their shields to their right arms, and escaped to the

imber of six hundred into the greater camp, and then, having

u8

LIVY.

A diiice o/
Mahcirbal to
Hannibal.

BOOK XXII. been joined by another considerable force, immediately made
their way to Canusium without loss. This action among the
conquered came more from the impulse which natural courage
or accident supplied than from any concerted plan or any
officer's generalship.

$1. Round the victorious Hannibal crowded his officers
with congratulations and entreaties that now that this mighty
war was finished he should take what remained of that day and
the following night for rest, and give the same to his wearied
soldiers. Maharbal, the general of his cavalry, thought that
there should be no pause. " Nay," he cried, " that you may
'" know what has been achieved by this victory, you shall hold a
" conqueror's feast within five days in the Capitol. Pursue them ;
" I will go before you with my cavalry, and they shall know
" that you are come before they know you are coming."
Hannibal felt that his success was too great for him to be able
to realize it at the moment. " He commended," he said,
" Maharbal's zeal, but he must take time to deliberate."
Maharbal replied, '' Well, the gods do not give all gifts to one
" man. Hannibal, you know how to conquer ; not how to use a
" conquest." That day's delay is believed to have saved Rome
and its empire.

The next day, at daybreak, they issued forth to collect
the spoil and to gaze upon a scene of slaughter, at which
even a foe must have shuddered. Many thousands of the
Roman dead lay there, foot-soldiers and horsemen as chance
had thrown them together in the battle or the flight. Somei
were cut down by the foe as they rose covered with bloc
from the field of death, revived by the cold of the mornin
which had closed their wounds. Some, who were discovere
lying alive, but with the sinews of thighs and knees dividec
bared their necks and throats and begged the foe to shed wha
blood yet remained to them. Others were found with their head
buried in holes in the earth, and it was evident that they ha(
made these holes for themselves, had heaped up the soil on thei
faces, and so suffocated themselves. Of all; sights the raos
striking was a Numidian who lay with a dead Roman upor
him ; he was alive, but his ears and nose were mangled, for witJ
hands that were powerless to grasp a weapon, the man's rag<

The battle-
Jield.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 119

had turned to madness, and he had breathed his last while he book xxii.
tore his enemy with his teeth.

52. Till a late hour of the day Hannibal was gathering in Surrender 0/ 1/ e
the spoils. This done, he marched to attack the smaller camp. "'"^ cmhp".'"''"
His first act was to throw up an earthwork, and so shut
them off from the river. But the whole force, so worn out
were they with toil and sleeplessness and even wounds, sur-
rendered sooner than he had hoped. It was agreed that
they should give up their horses and arms, should pay for every
Roman citizen three hundred " chariot " pieces, for every ally
two hundred, for every slave one hundred, and that, this ransom
discharged, should depart with one garment apiece. They
admitted the enemy into their camp, and were all put under
arrest, the citizens and allies being kept separate. During the
delay thus caused, all who had strength and courage sufficient,
that is, about four thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry,
escaped from the greater camp and sought refuge, some march-
ing in column, others by twos and threes, across country, a way
quite as safe, into Canusium. The camp was surrendered by
the timid and disabled remainder on the same terms as the
other. The booty secured was immense, and the whole of it
was handed over to the troops, except the horses, the prisoners,
and any silver that was found. Most of this was in the trap-
pings of the horses ; for of plate for the table they used very
little, at least when on service. Hannibal then ordered that the
bodies of his own dead should be brought together for burial.
It is said that there were as many as eight thousand, all
men of tried valour. Some writers say that the body of the
Roman consul was also found after search and buried.

Those who had made their escape to Canusium, an Apulian
lady, named Busa, of distinguished family and great wealth,
jsupphed with food, clothing, and money for travelling, asking
I from the people of Canusium for nothing beyond their bare walls
land roofs. For this munificence the Senate voted her, at the
'.'ikI of the war, public^honours.

53- -At Canusium there were four tribunes of the soldiers,
1' ibius Maximus of the first legion (son of the Fabius who
had been dictator the year before), Publicius Bibulus, and
Publius Cornelius Scipio of the second legion, and, of the third

I20 LIVY.

HOOK XXII. legion, Appius Claudius Pulcher, who had very recently been
aedile. The supreme command was unanimously assigned to
Scipio, who was a very young man, and to Claudius. They
were holding council with a few friends about the state of affairs,
when Publius Furius Philus, whose father was an ex-consul, said
that it was idle for them to cling to utterly ruined hopes. The
State, he declared, was given over for lost. Certain young !
nobles with Lucius Cascilius Metellus at their head, were think- '
ing of flying beyond sea and deserting their country for the ;
service of some foreign king. In face of a peril, terrible in !
itself, and coming with fresh force after so many disasters, all ,'
present stood motionless in amazement and stupefaction. They
proposed that a council should be called to consider the matter, \
but the young Scipio, Rome's predestined champion in this war, j
declared that it was no time for a council. "We must dare *
Sci/w deters " and act," he said, " not deliberate, in such awful calamity. Let |
nMes o/camt"- " all who dcsire the salvation of their country, come armed with
o7«v"i^//^a'/r " "^^- -^^ camp is more truly a camp of the enemy than that '
as, in their " jn which men have such thoughts." He immediately started

despair of . ^

Rome's fortunes, with a few followers for the house of Metellus ; there he found
thought oj a gathering of the youths of whom he had heard. Drawing
doing. jjjg sv(^Qj-{j over the heads of the conspirators, "It is my fixed
" resolve," he cried, " as I will not myself desert the common-
" wealth of Rome, so not to suffer any other Roman citizen to
" desert it ; if I knowingly fail therein, Almighty and merciful
"Jupiter, smite me, my house, and fortunes with utter de-
" struction. I insist that you, Lucius Ceecihus, and all others
" present, take this oath after me. Whoever takes it not, may-
" be sure this sword is drawn against him." They were asj
frightened as if they saw the victorious Hannibal before them,J
and to a man they swore and delivered themselves to the]
custody of Scipio.

Arrival of some 54- While this was passing at Canusium, the consul was!
at 'camtnum.^ rejoined at Venusia by as many as four thousand five hundred in- 1
fantry and cavalry, who had dispersed over the country in flight.!
The people of Venusia distributed them among various house-j
holds where they might find kindly welcome and refreshment. Tel
each horseman they gave an outer and an inner garment withf
twenty-five "chariot " pieces, to each foot soldier ten pieces anc!-

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 121

such arms as he lacked. Public and private hospitality of every book xxir.

kind was shown to them ; and the town did its best not to let a

lady of Canusium surpass the people of Venusia in liberality.

The growing numbers made the burden on Busa's kindness

too heavy. There were now as many as ten thousand men,

and Appius and Scipio, on hearing that the other consul was

alive, sent to tell him what forces of infantry and cavalry they

had with them, and to ask him at the same time whether he

would have the army moved to Venusia or remain at Canusium.

Varro brought his own troops to Canusium. There was now,

at least, something like a consul's army, which might be thought

fit to defend itself against the enemy behind walls, if not in

the field.

At Rome report said that no such mere remnant of Panic at Rome.
citizens and allies survived, but that the army with the two
consuls had been utterly destroyed, and that the whole
force had ceased to exist. Never before, with Rome itself still
safe, had there been such panic and confusion within our walls-
I shall decline the task of attempting a lengthened description
which could not but be far inferior to the truth. The year
before a consul with his army had perished at Trasumennus ;
it was not wound after wound, but multiplied disasters
that were announced. Two consuls and the armies of two
consuls had perished. Rome had now no camp, no general, no
soldiers. Hannibal was master of Apulia, of Samnium, of
nearly the whole of Italy. Certainly there was not a nation in
the world which would not have been overwhelmed by such a
weight of calamity. Compare, for instance, the blow which the
Carthaginians received in the sea-fight at the .(Egates Islands, a
blow which made them evacuate Sicily and Sardinia and allow
themselves to be burdened with indemnity and tribute ; com-
pare again the defeat in Africa, by which Hannibal himself was
Isubsequently crushed. In no respect are they comparable with
Cannae, except because they were borne with less courage.

55. Marcus Furius Philus and Manius Pomponius, the Consultation in
praetors, summoned the Senate to meet in the Hall of Hostilius, ^'"h/d^^n^tof
to deliberate about the defence of Rome. They felt, no doubt, ^""*-
ithat now that our armies had perished, the enemy would advance
to attack the city, the only warlike operation indeed that remained.

122 LIVY.

BOOK XXII, In the face of calamities as mysterious as they were overwhehning>
they could not even so much as form a definite plan ; their
ears were deafened with the cries of wailing women, for as
nothing had been published, the living and the dead were
indiscriminately bewailed in almost every house. It was
Advice of Fabius the opinion of Quintus Fabius Maximus that some light
horsemen should be sent along the Appian and Latin roads to
question any whom they might meet — and certainly stragglers
from the rout would be found in all directions —what had
happened to the consuls and their armies, and, if heaven in pity
for the empire had left some remnant of the Roman nation,
where these forces were ; where Hannibal had gone after the
battle, what he meditated, what he was doing and likely to do ?
They must have young and energetic men to discover these
facts ; the duty of the Senators themselves— for there were but
very few magistrates in the city — would be to stop the confusion
and the alarm at home ; to forbid the matrons from appearing
in public, and to compel them to keep themselves each in her
own house ; to prohibit loud lamentations for the dead, to enforce
silence throughout the city, to see that all who brought news
were taken to the prsetors, to wait at home for the bearer of
tidings that affected themselves, and to set sentinels at the
gates who were to forbid all egress and make men see that their
only hope of saving their own lives lay in the safety of Rome
and its walls. The tumult once hushed, the Senators should be
summoned once more to the House and consulted as to the
defence of the city.
It is at once S^- This motion was passed unanimously and without dis- ,

acted on. cussion. The crowd was forced by the magistrates to leave
the forum, and the Senators separated to quiet the uproar ;
not till then did a despatch from the consul Caius Terentius
arrive. " Lucius ^^milius and his army," it said, " had perished ;
" the writer himself was at Canusium, gathering the rehcs of ^
" this terrible disaster, like the salvage from a shipwreck ; he
" had nearly ten thousand men without discipline or organisa-
" tion. Hannibal was quiet at ^Cannaa, trafficking about the
" ransoms of the prisoners and the other booty in anything
" but the spirit of a conqueror, in anything but the fashion of
'' a great general."

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 123

Then the names of the dead were communicated to book xxii.
their families. So full was the city of lamentation that the
yearly festival of Ceres was dropped. It was not lawful for a
mourner to keep it, and there was not at that time a single
matron who was not a mourner. In the fear that for this
same reason other sacred rites, public or private, might be
neglected, a decree of the Senate limited the mourning to thirty
days. No sooner had the uproar in the city been quieted, and
the Senate again summoned to their chamber, than there came a
despatch from Lucius Otacilius, pro-praetor, to the effect that king Bad news from
Hiero's dominions were being ravaged by a Carthaginian fleet ; ' ' ^'

that the king had begged his help, and that he was intending to
give it, when news came that another fleet was stationed off the
Aegates, ready equipped to attack Lilyb^um and another of the
provinces of Rome, the moment the Carthaginians should find
that he had gone to protect the Syracusan coast. A fleet,
therefore, was wanted if they meant to shield their ally king,
Hiero of Sicily.

57. When the despatches from the consul and the praetor
had been read, they resolved that Marcus Claudius, who was in
command of the fleet stationed at Ostia, should be sent to the
army at Canusium, with a letter of instructions to the consul
that at the first opportunity, as far as it could be done with
advantage to the State, he should come to Rome. To all our
terrible disasters was added, among other portents, the alarm-
ing fact that two of the Vestals were in that year detected in a
breach of their vow. Their names were Opimia and Floronia ;
one, as the custom is, was buried alive at the Colline Gate ; the
other had killed herself Lucius Cantilius, secretary to one of
the pontiffs (these officers are now called minor pontiff's), who
Ihad been guilty with Floronia, was beaten with rods in the
market-place by the chief pontiff", and died under the punish-
Inent. Such wickedness was naturally looked on as a portent,
pccurring as it did in the midst of all these calamities. The
j^ollege of the Ten were ordered to consult the books, and
l^uintus Fabius Pictor was sent to the oracle at Delphi to inquire
vhat form of prayer and supplication might propitiate the
ocls, and what was to be the end of all these fearful disasters,
ileanwhile, in obedience to the books of Fate, some unusual

124 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. sacrifices were offered. Among them were a man and a woman
Human of Gaul, and a man and a woman of Greece, who were buried

^^'^'^at^Rome. alive in the Ox-market in a stone- vaulted chamber, not then for
the first time polluted by what Roman feeling utterly abhorred,
human sacrifice.
Claudius The gods having been, as they thought, duly propitiated)

thTcommandat Marcus Claudius Sent from Ostia to Rome for the defence of the
Canustum. ^.j^y. fifteen hundred soldiers whom he had with him, enlisteid for
service in the fleet. He then sent on the naval {i.e. the third)
' legion to Sidicinum,and handing over the fleet to his colleague,
Marcus Furius Philus, hastened, a few days afterwards, by forced
marches to Canusium. After this Marcus Junius was named
dictator, and Titus Sempronius, master of the horse, by the
authority of the Senate, and these proclaimed a levy, and en-
rolled all of seventeen yfcars of age and upwards, and some
yet younger. Four legions and a thousand cavalry were thus
raised. They also sent to the allies and to the Latin nation
for soldiers to be enlisted according to the treaty obligations.
Armour, weapons, and other necessaries were ordered to be
in readiness, and old trophies won from enemies were taken
down from the temples and colonnades. The scarcity of free-
men and the pressure of necessity suggested a new kind of
Arming of kvy. Eight thousand able-bodied young men from among the
slaves, after the question had been put individually whether they
were willing to serve, were purchased and armed at the public
cost. These troops had this • to recommend them, that they
rendered it possible to ransom prisoners at a less cost.

Hannibal's offer 58. Hannibal, after his great success at Cannae, was
"prisoners'!" bent On schemes which suited a conqueror rather than one
who had yet a war to wage. The prisoners were brought out
and classified ; the allies, as he had done before at Trebia and
Lake Trasumennus, he dismissed with some kind words. The
Romans too he addressed, as he had never done before, in quite
gentle terms ; he had no deadly feud, he said, with Rome ; he was
fighting for freedom and empire. His fathers had yielded to the
valour of Rome ; he was now doing his utmost that Rome should
yield in turn to his own valour and good fortune. He would there-
fore give the prisoners an opportunity of ransoming themselves :
the sum would be five hundred " chariot " pieces for each horse-

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 125

man, three hundred for each foot soldier, one hundred for each book xxii.

slave. The price put on the horsemen was somewhat larger

than that which had been agreed upon when they surrendered,

but they joyfully accepted any kind of terms which permitted

them to treat. It was resolved that they should themselves elect

ten deputies, who were to go to the Senate at Rome. No Ten of them go

security was taken for their good faith, except an oath that they for "the means

would return. One Carthalo, a noble of Carthage, was sent "-^theV^l^^red

with them, bearing conditions of peace, if there should chance ransom.

to be any inclination in that direction. After they had left the

camp, one of their number, a man who had none of a Roman's

temper, pretending that he had forgotten something, returned to

the camp, so as to acquit himself of his oath, and before night

overtook his companions. As soon as it was announced that

they wefe on their way to Rome, a . lictor was sent to meet

Carthalo with a message that he was to quit Roman territory

before nightfall.

59. The dictator allowed the delegates of the prisoners to One of them
address the Senate. Their leader, Marcus Junius, spoke as of his feiimv^
follows: — "No country. Senators, as we all well know, has ^'^/r^sen^afr^
" ever held prisoners cheaper than has our own ; yet unless
" we are too well satisfied with our own case, no prisoners have
" ever fallen into the hands of the enemy who were less deserving
" of neglect than we. We did not surrender our arms on the field
1 1" of battle from fear, but after prolonging our resistance almost
i " into the night, when we stood upon heaps of dead, we retreated
r i" to our camp. During the remainder of that day and during the

i' night that followed, worn out as we were with toil and wounds,
' we defended our intrenchments ; the next day, hemmed in by
' the victorious army, and shut off from water, seeing no hope of
' cutting away through the dense ranks of the foe, and thinking
' it no shame that with fifty thousand men slain in the field
' there should be some remnant of Roman soldiers from the
■ fight of Cannae, then at last we agreed upon a price at which
' we might be ransomed and released, and surrendered the arms
1' which could no longer give deliverance. We had heard that your
'• ancestors ransomed themselves from the Gauls for gold, and
that ydur fathers, sternly set as they were against all conditions
of peace, yet sent envoys to Tarentum to treat for the ransom-

126 LIVY.

BOOK xxii. " ing of prisoners. Yet the disgrace of our battle at Allia with
"the Gauls, and of our battle at Heraclea with Pyrrhus, was
" not so much in the loss as in the panic and flight of either
" day. The plains of Cannaa are covered with heaps of Roman
" dead, and we survive only because the enemy had not sword
" or strength to slaughter any more. There are some, too,
" among us who were not even in the battle, but were left to
" guard the camp, and came into the hands of the enemy when
" the camp was surrendered. I do not envy the fortune or
" position of any fellow-countryman or comrade, nor would I
" wish to exalt myself by depreciating others ; but— unless there
" is some prize for speed of foot and for running — they who
" fled, without arms for the most part, from the battle, nor
" stopped till they reached Canusium or Venusia, cannot justly
" put themselves above us, or boast that the commonwealth finds
" more help in them than in us. But you will employ both
" them (good and gallant soldiers too) and us, who will be yet
" more eager to serve our country, seeing that it is by your
" kindness that we shall have been ransomed and restored to
" that country. You are levying troops from every age and
" class ; I hear that eight thousand slaves are being armed.
" There is the same number of us, and we can be ransomed at
" a cost no greater than that for which they are bought. Were
" I to compare our worth with theirs, I should wrong the name
" of Rome. And there is another point, Senators, which I
" think you ought to consider in deciding such a matter, should
" you incline to the sterner course, and do it without regard
" for any deserving of ours, and that is, who is the enemy
" to whom you leave us? Is it to a Pyrrhus who treated his
" prisoners as guests ? Or is it to a barbarian, a Carthaginian, of j
" whom one can scarcely imagine whether he be more rapacious!
" or more cruel ? Could you see the chains, the squalor, thel
"hideous condition of your countrymen, verily the sight would!
" not move you less than if, on the other side, you looked on j
"your slaughtered legions lying dead on the plains of Cannae.
" You may behold the anxiety and the tears of the kinsmen
"who stand in the porch of your House and await your
" answer. If they are so anxious, so troubled for us and for
" those who are absent, what, think you, are the thoughts oi

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

127

" those whose Hfe and hberty are at stake ? Good God ! if
" Hannibal should choose to belie his own nature, and be merci-
" ful to us, yet we could not think our lives worth anything to
" us, when you have thought us unworthy td be ransomed. In
" former days there returned to Rome certain prisoners whom
" Pyrrhus sent back without ransom ; but they returned with
" envoys, taken from the first men in the State, who had been
" sent to ransom themselves. Can I return to my country, I,
"a citizen, not valued at three hundred pieces* of money?'
" Every one has his own feelings, Senators. That my life
" and person are in peril, I know, but I am more troubled by
" the peril to my character, if we are to depart condemned and
" repulsed by you ; for that you spared the money men will
" never believe."

60. As he ended, there rose from the crowd in the place

of assembly a doleful cry. They stretched out their hands

towards the Senate House, praying that their children, brothers,

jkinsmen might be restored to them. Mingled with the crowd of

men were many women, brought thither by fear and affection.

jAll strangers were ordered to withdraw, and the debate in the

ISenate began. There was great diversity of opinion ; some

jhought that the prisoners should be ransomed at the cost of

jhe State ; others- that no public expense should be incurred,

, Hut that it should not be forbidden to ransom them at the

. xpense of private persons ; any one who could not command

tie money at once, might have it lent to them from the treasury,

iving security to the State by bondsmen and mortgages. At

Ut Titus Manlius Torquatus, who was old-fashioned, and, some

jiought, over stern in his severity, spoke, it is said, as follows : —

I If the envoys had been content with demanding on behalf of

those who are in the enemy's hands that they should be

ransomed, I should have briefly stated my opinion, without

a word of reproach against any one of them. For surely

s ou only needed to be reminded that you must keep to the

Jiactice handed down from our fathers, for the setting an ex-

imple necessary to preserve military discipline. As it is, they

lave almost boasted that they surrendered to the enemy, and

laimed it as their right that they should be preferred, not

' inly to the prisoners taken on the field, but even to those who

BOOK XXTI,

About £2 los.

Protest of
Manlius
Torquatus
against
ransoming the
prisoners.

'i

128 LIVY.

BOOK XXII. '"made their way to Canusium and Venusia, and to the consul
" Terentius Varro himself ; and therefore I shall not let you,
" Senators, remain in ignorance of anything that was done there.
" I .would that what I am about to say before you I was
" saying at Canusium before the army itself, the best possible
" witness to each man's bravery or cowardice ; or that at least
" Publius Sempronius himself was here, for, had they taken him
" for their leader, they would this day be soldiers in the camp
" of Rome, not prisoners in the enemy's hand. The enemy was
" wearied with fighting, or exhilarated with victory ; many of
" them had actually gone back to their camp • they had the
"whole night for breaking away, and seven thousand armed
" men could have broken away even through a dense array of the
" enemy ; yet they neither endeavoured to do this of themselves,
" nor chose to follow the lead of another. Nearly all night long j
" did Publius Sempronius Tuditanus warn them and urge them
" without ceasing to follow him while the enemy around the camp
" was still weak, while quiet and silence still prevailed, whil
" darkness would shelter the attempt. Before dawn, he saidj
" they might reach a place of safety — the gities of our allies
" If, as Publius Decius, tribune of the soldiers, spake ii
" Samnium in the days of our grandfathers ; if, as fn the firsi
" Punic War, when we ourselves were young men, Calpurnius
*' Flamma, spake to three hundred volunteers whom he was lead*
" ing to capture a height situated in the very midst of the fo^
" * Let us die, comrades, and deliver the blockaded legions fsoia
" their peril by our death,' — if, I say, Publius Sempronius had
" thus spoken, I should take them neither for men nor Roman;
" if he had found no companions in his valour. But he shows
" you a way that leads to safety quite as much as to glory ; lj(
" seeks to bring you back to your country, to kinsfolk, wives, anc
" children. You have not the courage to be saved. Wha
"would you do if you had to die for your country? FiftjJ;
"thousand countrymen and allies lie about you slain that ver!
" day. If so many examples of valour stir you not, nothiaj
"ever will stir you. If such a fearful slaughter does no
"make life seem worthless to you, nothing ever will mak
" it. Are you free citizens, and possessed of full rights.'' "Vo
"may hold your country dear. Yes, you may hold it dea)-,.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 129

'while it is your country and you its citizens. Too .late you book xxil

"hold it dear, your rights forfeited, your citizenship lost,

' yourselves turned into Carthaginian slaves. Are you to return

" at the cost of a ransom to the position which only cowardice

■' and wickedness made you quit .'' To Publius Sempronius when

" he bade you arm yourselves and follow him, you would not

" listen ; you listened to Hannibal when he bade you betray your

" camp and deliver up your arms. As it is, I only charge them

" with cow3.rdice when I might charge them with crime. Not

" only did they refuse to follow Sempronius when he gave them

" honourable advice, but they did their best to obstruct and keep

" him back till these gallant men drew their swords and chased the

'•' cowards away. I say that Sempronius had to force his way first

" through the ranks of his countrymen, then through the ranks

" of the foe. Is our country to care for citizens of such sort that,

" if all others had been like them, she could not count on a single

" one of those who fought at Cannae, as a citizen indeed ? Out of

" seven thousand armed men there were six hundred who dared

" to cut their way out, who returned to their country with their

1" arms and their freedom ; and to these six hundred the enemy

j" made no resistance. How absolutely safe would have been,

i' think you, the path to a body consisting of nearly two legions !

' And you would have" to-day at Canusium twenty thousand armed

I' men, gallant and loyal. As it is, how can these men be good and

loyal citizens ? Brave they do not even themselves claim to be ;

unless, perhaps, some one can believe that men who sought

to prevent a sally, yet looked with favour on those who sallied,

and that they do not grudge fhem the deliverance and the

'1 glory that their valour has won for them, knowing all the

while that their own fear and cowardice have brought on them

an ignominious servitude. They chose to hide in their tents

waiting at once for the light and the enemy, rather than to

sally forth in the silence of night. But, you will say, they

had not the courage to sally from the camp ; they had courage

jnough to defend their camp bravely. Blockaded, I suppose,

lii^ht and day, they defended the rampart with their arms, and

cmselves behind the rampart. At last, after reaching the

tremity of daring and suffering, lacking everything to sup-

irt life, their famine-stricken limbs refusing to bear the weight

LIVY.

BOOK XXII.

The Senate
refuses to
ransom ihe
prisoners.

" of their arms, they yielded to the necessities of nature rather
" than to arms. At daybreak the enemy approached the ram-
"part ; before eight o'clock, without venturing on any conflict,
" they surrendered their arms and themselves. Here, mark you,
"was their two days' soldiership. When they ought to have
" stood on the field and fought, they fled to the camp ; when
" they ought to have fought before their rampart, they sur-
" rendered ; in field and camp useless alike. And is it you that
" I am to ransom ? When it is your duty to sally out of the
" camp, you hesitate and tarry ; when you are bound to stay and
" defend the camp, you surrender camp and arms and your-
" selves to tlje enemy. I would as soon think of ransoming
" them, Senators, as I would of surrendering to Hannibal the
" men who cut their way out of the camp through the midst of
" the enemy, and by a supreme eff"ort of valour gave themselves
" back to their country."

6i. Many of the Senators had near relatives among the pri-
soners, but when Manlius had done speaking, in addition to the
precedent of Rome's immemorial severity in regard to prii
soners came the thought of the vast sum required. The treasury
must not be exhausted, for large sums had already been spent ii
buying and arming slaves, and Hannibal, who according to al
report was in the utmost need, must not be enriched Whe<
the sad answer came that the prisoners were not to be ransomed:
adding a new grief to the old in the loss of so many citizens, thej
attended the envoys to the gates with many tears and compla
One of them went to his home, as having quitted himself
oath by the pretence of his return to the camp. Wher
became known and reached the ears of the Senate, they
mously voted that the man should be seized and taken
an escort furnished by the State to Hannibal.

There are also other reports about the prisoners. It is!
that ten came first. There was some doubt in the S<!
whether or no they were to be admitted into the city. Thei
were admitted on the condition, that they were not to ha|
hearing in the Senate. While they tarried longer than anj
expected, three new envoys came, Lucius Scribonius,
Calpurnius, and Lucius Manlius. Then at last, on the m<i
of Scribonius, a tribune of the people, the question was rd

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

131

of ransoming the prisoners, and the Senate decided against it.
Upon this the three new envoys returned to Hannibal, but the old
envoys remained on the understanding that having returned to
Hannibal for the purpose of reviewing the names of the prisoners,
they were released from their obligation. There was a fierce
debate in the Senate about them, and the proposal to give them
up was lost by a few votes. But as soon as new censors came
into office, so crushed were they under every mark of censure
and degradation, that some of them at once committed suicide,
and the rest for the remainder of their lives shunned not merely
the forum, but almost the very light of day and the public
streets. We may wonder why our authorities differ so much
from each other more easily than to determine what is true.

How greatly this disaster surpassed all previous disasters
is clearly shown by the fact that the loyalty of our allies, stead-
fast until that day, now began to waver, simply, indeed, because
they despaired of the maintenance of our empire. The fol-
lowing tribes revolted to the Carthaginians ; the Atellani, the
i Calatini, some of the Apulians, all the Samnites except the
Pentri, all the Bruttii and the Lucani. To these must be added
ithe Uzentini, nearly all the Greek cities of the coast, Tarentum,
Metapontum, Crotona, and Locri, and the whole of Cisalpine
Gaul. Yet all these disasters and defections never made the
Romans so much as mention peace, either before the consul
etumed to Rome, or after his return had renewed the
emembrance of the terrible loss sustained. On this latter
pccasion, indeed, such was the high spirit of the country, that
kvhen the consul returned after this great disaster of which he
pad himself been the chief cause, all classes went in crowds to
meet him, and he was publicly thanked because " he had not
;' despaired of the commonwealth." Had he been a Cartha-
jjinian general, they knew that there was no torture which he
iyould not have had to suffer.

BOOK XXII.

Revolt among
Rome's allies.

Va!-ro, on his
return, is pub-
licly thanked,
because he had
not despaired
0/ the
cotnmonwealth.

K 2

BOOK XXIII.

B.C. 2l6, 215.

BOOK XXIII.

Hannibal in
Saniniuvi.

Conza.

He enters
Campania.

I. Hannibal, immediately after the battle of Cannae and
the capture and plunder of the enemy's camp, had moved from
Apulia into Samnium. One Statius Trebius had invited him
into the country of the Hirpini, promising to put Compsa* into
his hands. Trebius was a native of Compsa, and ranked as a
noble among his fellow-citizens, but he had formidable opponents
in the faction of the Mopsii, a family of influence through thi
favour of Rome. After the news of the battle of Cannse, whe'
Trebius had begun to talk commonly of Hannibal's comin:
the Mopsii quitted the city, and the place was at once sur<
rendered to the Carthaginians and a garrison admitted. Then
Hannibal left all his booty and his baggage ; then dividing hi
army, he instructed Mago to accept the alliance of all the town
in that district which were revolting from Rome, and to fore
into revolt such as refused, while he himself marched througl
Campania towards the Lower Sea with the intention of attackini
Naples, and so to possess himself of a city on the coast.

On entering Neapolitan territory he posted some of hi
Numidians in ambuscade wherever he conveniently could (anc.
there are many deep lanes and unseen hollows), others h
ordered to ride up to the city gates, displaying in their fron
the plunder driven out of the fields. As they seemed to b
neither numerous nor disciplined, a troop of cavalry charge |
them, and then, as they designedly retreated, was drawn int
an ambuscade and surrounded. Not a man would have escape;
had not the proximity of the sea and some vessels near tl:

.li

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 133

shore, fishing boats for the most part, afforded an escape to such book xxiii.
as could swim. But, as it was, some young nobles were taken
or slain in the skirmish, among them Hegeas, the commander
of the troop, who fell as he too rashly pursued the retiring foe.
The sight of walls by no means easy of assault deterred the
Carthaginians from attacking the town.

2. Hannibal next directed his march towards Capua, a city Establishes
demoralised by long prosperity and the bounty of nature, and, '"capia.
most of all^ where all was corruption, by the license of a popu-
lace that enjoyed a freedom totally without restraint. A certain
Pacuvius Calavius had rendered the town- senate servilely submis-
sive to himself and to the commons. The man was a noble as
well as a popular favourite, but he had gained his influence by base
intrigues. In the year of our disaster at Trasumennus he held, as
it chanced, the highest office. Convinced that the populace,
v/hich had long hated the senate, would seize the opportunity
of revolution to venture on an outrageous crime, that, should
Hannibal march into the neighbourhood with a victorious army,
it would massacre the senators and betray Capua to the Cartha-
ginians, this man, who, bad as he was, was not wholly
and utterly depraved, and would rather rule in a flourishing
than in a ruined state, and was assured that no state deprived of
its public council could flourish, resorted to a policy, the design
of which was, while retaining a senate, to make it subservient
to himself and to the commons.

He summoned the senate, and began by telling them that
lany scheme of revolt from the Romans would be anything but
acceptable to him, had it not been a necessity, as he himself
had children by the daughter of Appius Claudius, and had given
Ihis only daughter in marriage to Marcus Livius at Rome. " But,"
he added, " a far more serious and formidable crisis is now
' impending. The populace are not simply thinking of a re-
' volt which will sweep the senate out of the city, but are bent
' on handing over to Hannibal and the Carthaginians a city
■ stripped of its leaders by a massacre of every senator. I
wish to rescue you from this peril, if only you will let me, and,
getting past political strifes, trust me." When they all
led under the constraint of terror, " I will confine you," he
, " in the senate house, and by expressing my approval of

l(,r<

134

LIVY.

COOK xxili. " designs which it would be vain for me to oppose, just as if

" I were myself an accomplice in the meditated crime, I will

" find a way of safety for you. Take for this my word any

" guarantee you please." Such guarantee having been given,

The senate of he went out, Ordering the senate house to be closed, and leaving

the town con- . J t.

fined in their a military guard at the entrance so that no one could enter or
L lam et, ^^j^ ^^^ chamber without his permission.

3. Then he summoned the townsfolk to an assembly. " You
" have often wished," he said, " that you had the power of
" inflicting punishment on a wicked and infamous senate.

and thus put "That powcr you now have, without tumultuously storming,
'"the/o/uJace. " '^^^^ ^^^ utmost peril to yourselves, the houses of individual
" citizens, guarded, as they are, by a force of clients or of i
" slaves ; you have it in safe and uncontrolled possession. Take
"them, as they are, shut up, all of them, in the senate house,
"alone, unarmed. But you must not do anything hurriedly or
" rashly. You shall have from me the right to pronounce
" sentence of life and death on them, one by one, so that each
" may pay the penalty he has deserved. But, above all thing^
" you ought to indulge your resentment only on the conditiol
" of postponing it to your safety and your interest. Of cours
" you hate, so I suppose, these senators, yet do not wish to b
" wholly without a senate, as you must have either a kin^
" detestable alternative, or else, as the only deliberative assem-
" bly for a free state, a senate. Consequently, you must do tw<
" things at once. You must rid yourselves of the old senat*
" and elect a new one. I will order the senators to be summonet
" singly, and I will take your opinions as to their fate. Wha
" you decide in each case, shall be carried out ; but you mus
" elect as a new senator in each one's room a man of firmnes
" and energy before you inflict punishment on the guilty."

Pacuvius then sat down, and, throwing the names into ai
urn, ordered the name which was first drawn by lot to be callc
out, and the man himself to be led out of the senate house. A
soon as the name was heard, every one on his own account e>
claimed that the man was bad and vile and deserved punishmen ]
Thereupon Pacuvius said, " I see what the opinion is in this
" case. Choose, then, in the place of a bad and vile man
" good and upright senator."

' i/en' senate
proposed.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

135

At first there was a silence. They were at a loss to suggest
a better man. Then when somebody, throwing off his diffi-
dence, suggested a name, there instantly began a much louder ^
shouting, some declaring that they did not know the man, others
alleging against him various infamies, or low birth and abject
poverty, or some sort of disgraceful occupation or trade. This
was repeated with more violence when a second and a third
senator were summoned, and it was thus evident that they dis-
liked the man, but that no one was forthcoming to choose into his
place. For there was no use in naming the same persons already
named, only to hear themselves insulted, and the remainder were
far more low-born and obscure than those who first occurred to
men's thoughts. And so the crowd dispersed, saying that the
evils best known were always the most endurable, and insisting
or> the senators being released from custody.

4. The senate, which was thus made to owe their lives to
Pacuvius, felt much more bound to him than to the commons?
and the man ruled by a consent that was now universal, without
the help of arms. The senators, from that time disregarding
their traditions of dignity and freedom, flattered the populace ;
they would greet them, give them friendly invitations, entertain
them at splendid banquets, take up their causes, range them-
selves on their side, and insure, by empannelling favourable
juries, that verdict which was the most acceptable and likeliest
to win popularity with the lowest class. In fact all business was
now transacted in the senate just as if the commons were there
assembled. Thus a community which had always been inclined
to luxury, not simply from some defect in character, but from
an overflowing abundance of pleasures and the charm of every
delight which earth or sea could furnish, became at last so
thoroughly demoralised by the indulgence of the leading citizens
and the license of the populace, that sensuality and extrava-
gance passed all bounds.

To this contempt of the laws, the magistrates, and the

nate, there was added now after the battle of Cannae, scorn
>t that for which some respect had still remained, the
Ivoman power. One thing only delayed their revolt. An

icient right of intennarriage had united many of their great

id powerful families with Rome, and among the many

BOOK XXIII.

Failure of the
attempt to elect
neiu senators.

The senate
released.

The senators let

the populace

have their oivn

way.

Luxuricus

tastes 0/ the

citizens of

Capua.

They think of
revolting fr/>iit

136 LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. citizens that served in Roman armies were three hundred
knights, strongest bond of all, as being to a man the noblest of
the Campanians, whom the Romans had picked out and de-
spatched to garrison the cities of Sicily. Their parents and
kinsfolk succeeded with difficulty in having an embassy sent to
the Roman consul.

5. The envoys found that the consul had not yet started for
Canusiunijbut was still at Venusia with a few half-armed followers,
the most pitiable object possible to good allies ; to the arrogant
and disloyal, such as were the Campanians, equally despicable.
The consul even increased the contempt felt for himself and his
fortunes by too openly and nakedly exposing the disaster.
When the envoys told him that the senate and people of
Campania were grieved that any calamity should have befallen
the Romans, and began to promise all things needful for war.
His reply. he replied, " When, men of Campania, you bid us make
" requisitions on you for whatever we want for war, you
" observe the usual form in addressing allies rather than use
" language suitable to our present plight. For what has been
" left us at Cannae that, as those who still possess something of
" their own, we could wish allies to make up the deficiency .<*
" Are we to order infantry from you, as though we had cavalry ?
" Are we to say that we need money, as if that was our only
" want ? Fortune has left nothing to make up. Our legions,
" pur cavalry, our arms, our standards, our horses, our soldiers,
" our money, our supplies, were destroyed utterly either on the
" field or in the two camps which we lost the next day. So,
"men of Campania, it is not for you to help us in war, but
" almost to undertake war for us. Bethink yourselves how,
*' when your panic-stricken ancestors in days of old were driven
" within their walls and were in dread of the Sidicine as well as
" the Samnite foe, we received them into alliance and saved
" them at Saticula, and for nearly a hundred years, with varying
'• fortune, bore the brunt of a war with the Samnites that was
" begun on your behalf. Add to this recollection that, when you
" were in our power, we gave you ^ treaty on equal terms, your
" own laws ; finally, what, at any rate before the disaster of
" Cannae, was the greatest of boons, we gave our Roman
" citizenship to a large proportion of your citizens and shared it

SECOND PUNIC WAR. I37

" with you. And so, Campanians, you ought to regard this BOOK XXIII

" disaster, which we have sustained, as common to us both, and

" feel that you have to defend a common fatherland. It is not

" with Samnites or Etruscans that we have to do ; in that case

" the empire, if wrested from us, would still remain in Italy.

" The Carthaginian foe drags with him a soldiery that is not

" even native to Africa, drags it from the remotest regions of the

" earth, from the ocean straits and the pillars of Hercules, a

" soldiery strange to law, to compact, almost to human speech.

" Ruthless' and savage as they are by nature and habit, their

"leader has himself yet further brutalised them by making

" bridges and barriers out of heaps of human bodies, and teaching

"them to feed (I loathe to utter it) on human flesh. That men

'• fed on food so horrible, men whom it would be a sin even to

" touch, we should regard and own as our masters ; that we

'■ should seek our laws from Africa and Carthage and let Italy

" be a province of the Numidians and Moors, — who, if only born

" in Italy, would not curse such a destiny ? It will be a glorious

" thing, men of Campania, for an empire which has fallen by

"a Roman defeat to have been saved and recovered by your

" loyalty, your might. Thirty thousand infantry, four thousand

" cavalry can, in my belief, be raised from Campania. Already

" you have money and corn in abundance. If you show a

" good faith equal to your resources, Hannibal will not feel

' himself to be a conqueror nor the Romans to have been

' conquered."

6. With this speech of the consul the envoys were dis-
missed. As they were on their way home one of them, Vibius
Virrius, said that the time was come when the Campanians
might not only recover the territory which the Romans had
faken from them in past days, but even possess themselves of
i^he empire of Italy. "We shall conclude," he said, "a treaty
:' with Hannibal on what terms we please, and there will be no
^iMcstion that when the war is over and. Hannibal returns
torious into Africa, taking his army with him, the empire of
l" Italy will be left in the hands of the Campanians." All the
invoys agreed with what Vibius said, and gave such a report of
■heir mission that every one imagined that the name of Rome
>as utterly effaced.

138

LIVY,

BOOK XXIII.

The iame Cam-

tatiian em'nys

set it to

Hannibal.

Negotiations
7inlh Hannibal.

Outrage of the
Campanians on
Roman citizens.

Deciiis Magins
opposed to all
these pro-
ceedings.

The commons and a majority of the senate began instantly
to think of a revolt. The persuasions of the older citizens, how-
ever, obtained a postponement for a few days. At last the opinion
of the majority prevailed, and the same envoys who had gone
to the Roman consul vi^ere to be sent to Hannibal. In some
histories I find it recorded that previous to their departure and
the final decision for revolt, envoys were sent by the Campanians
to Rome, with a demand that one consul should be a Campanian,
if Rome desired aid for her empire. There was a burst of indig-
nation, and it was ordered that they should be removed from the
Senate House, and a lictor was sent to conduct them out of the
city and bid them tarry that day outside Roman territory. But
as this too closely resembles a demand formerly made by the
Latins, and as Caelius and other writers had omitted it not
without good reason, I fear to give it as a well authenticated
story.

7. The envoys came to Hannibal and negotiated a peace
with him on the following terms. " No Carthaginian general
" or magistrate was to have any authority over a Campanian
" citizen, and no Campanian citizen was to be called on for
" military or any other service against his will. Capua was to
" have its own laws and its own magistrates. The Carthaginians
" were to hand over to the Campanians three hundred of their
" Roman prisoners, such as the Campanians themselves might
" choose ; these were to be exchanged for the Campanian
" knights serving in Sicily." Such were the stipulated terms.
But the Campanians crowned this compact by the perpetration
of infamous outrages. The commanding officers of our alhes
and other Roman citizens, some of whom were employed in
military service of some sort, others tied to the spot by privata
affairs, were all suddenly seized by the populace, and at theii
bidding shut up in the public baths, to be kept in safe custody,
it was alleged, but really to die a horrible death by suffocation in
the heated atmosphere.

Decius Magius, a man to the supremacy of whose influence
nothing was wanting but a rational temper in his fellow-citizens,
had opposed these proceedings as well as the despatch of the
embassy to the Carthaginians with all his might. As soon as he
heard that Hannibal was sending them a garrison, he reminded

SECOND PUNIC WAR. i39

them, as a parallel case, of the insolent tyranny of Pyrrhus and BOOK xxiii.

of the pitiable servitude of the Tarentines. First he publicly

protested against the admission of the troops ; next he insisted

that, if admitted, they should either be driven out, or, rather, if

they had a mind to clear themselves of the crime of revolt

against ancient allies of kindred blood, they should massacre

the Carthaginian garrison and again submit themselves to Rome.

All this, and indeed it was not done in secret, was reported to

Hannibal. First, he sent messengers to summon Magius to his tf^e refuses to

presence m the camp ; then, upon the haughty refusal oi Magius summons.

on the ground that Hannibal had no authority over a Campanian

citizen, the Carthaginian, roused to fury, ordered the man to be

arrested, chained, and dragged before him. Afterwards fearing

that violence might lead to uproar, and the excitement of men's

minds provoke some rash conflict, he sent on in' advance a

message to Marius Blossius, chief magistrate of Campania, that

he would be at Capua the next day, and started from the camp

with a small force.

Marius called an assembly and issued a proclamation that
the people were to go in a body with their wives and children to
meet Hannibal. All did so, not in mere obedience, but with en- The people of
thusiasm ; for the populace were well disposed to Hannibal and ''''^HatmiM.'"'
were intensely eager to see a general now famous for so many
victories. Decius Magius did not go out to meet him, neither
did he keep himself at home, as this would have implied the
fear of conscious guilt. He strolled leisurely up and down the
forum with his son and a few of his dependants^, while all the
citizens were rushing excitedly to welcome and gaze on Hannibal.
On entering the town Hannibal at once demanded a meeting of
the senate. The leading Campanians implored him not to
transact any serious business that day, but to celebrate it with
hearty joy, as the festal occasion of his arrival. Though he was
naturally impetuous in his wrath, yet, not to begin by a refusal,
he passed most of the day in viewing the city.

8. He was entertained by Sthenius and Pacuvius, men
distinguished by their rank and wealth. Pacuvius Calavius,
of whom I have already spoken as the leader of the party
which had dragged the country into the Carthaginian alliance,
brought his son, a young man, to the house. He had forced

I40 LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. him away from the companionship ot Decius Magius, with
Pacuvius pleads whom the youth had stood up for the Roman alliance in opposi-
""Hanniiai/ol'' tion to the treaty with Carthage, and neither the changed temper
his son, who had of the citizens nor the authority of his father had driven him

npposed the

negotiations, from his resolution. For this youth the father, by intercessions
rather than by apologies, now secured Hannibal's pardon. Over-
come by the entreaties and tears of the parent, Hannibal gave
orders that both son and father be invited to dinner, though he
had not intended that any Campanian should be present at the
entertainment except his hosts and Vibellius Taurea, a man of
fame as a soldier.

The feasting began early in the day, and the banquet was not
in Carthaginian fashion, or in conformity with military discipHne,
but, as might have been expected in a city and a house, both
rich and luxurious, furnished with every allurement of pleasure.
One alone, the young Calavius, could not be urged to drink,
either by the solicitations of the host or even by the occasional
pressing of Hannibal ; he himself pleaded indisposition, while
his father gave as a further reason his very natural excitement.
About sunset Calavius left the banquet and was followed by his
son. As soon as they reached a retired spot (it was a garden at
the back of the house), the son said, ** I suggest a plan, father,
" by means of which we Campanians shall at once not only
" secure from the Romans pardon for the error of our revolt to
" Hannibal, but shall also enjoy far greater esteem and favour
" than ever in the past." Full of amazement the father asked
what the plan was, when the youth threw back his toga from his

The young man shoulder, and exposed to view a sword girt at his side. "This

i7saTsinlu " instant," he exclaimed, " with the blood of Hannibal I will

Hannibal. u ^^ikt a binding treaty with Rome. I wished you to know this

" beforehand, should you perchance prefer to be absent while the

" deed is done."

He is deterred 9. The old man, on hearing and seeing this, felt as if he

whmn he yZids. were witnessing the deed of which he was hearing, and was
beside himself with terror. " I implore and entreat you, son,"
he said, " by every bond which unites a child to his parent not
" to be bent on doing and suffering before a father's eyes all that
" is unspeakably horrible. Did we but a few hours ago plight
" our faith, swearing by every imaginable divinity, and joining

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 141

" hand to hand, that we are now to leave a friendly conversation, BOOK xxiii.

"and in a moment arm against him hands bound by these

" sacred pledges ? Do you rise from the hospitable table to

" which you with only two other Campanians have been invited

" purposing to stain that very table with the blood of your host ?

" Have I, a father, been able to obtain mercy from Hannibal for

" my son, and can I not obtain mercy from that son for Hannibal ?

" But put aside all sacred ties, all good faith, all obligation, all

" sense of duty ; dare a deed unspeakably horrible, if along with

" the guilt it does not bring ruin on us. Is it alone that you

" mean to fall upon Hannibal ? What say you to that crowded

" gathering of freemen and of slaves, to the gaze of all eyes

*' steadfastly bent on one man, to those many strong hands ?

" Will they be paralysed at the moment of your mad attempt ?

" And the face of Hannibal himself, the face which armed hosts

" cannot confront, at which the people of Rome quail, will you

" confront it ? Suppose the absence of other safeguards ; will

" you have the heart to strike down me, your father, when I

" interpose my life to save the life of Hannibal ? Well, but it is

" through my breast that you must smite and pierce him.

" Suffer yourself now to be dissuaded here rather than to be

" vanquished there. Let my entreaties prevail with you, as this

" day they have prevailed for you."

Then seeing the youth in tears he clasped him round the
waist, clung to him with kisses, and did not cease his entreaties
till he had constrained him to cast aside his sword, and to
pledge himself to do no such deed. Upon this the youth
replied, '*As for myself, the duty I owe my country shall be
" paid to my father. I sorrow for your lot, for you have to bear
" the guilt of a thrice betrayed country, betrayed first when
" you prompted revolt from Rome, a second time when you
" prompted a peace with Hannibal ; a third time this day, when
" you are an obstacle and a hindrance to the restoration of
" Capua to the Romans. Receive this sword, my country, with
" which I armed myself in your defence to enter this stronghold
I " of an enemy, since a father wrests it from me." With these
words, he flung the sword over the hedge of the garden into the
public street, and that there might be no suspicion of the
matter, returned himself to the banquet.

142

LIVY.

BOOK XXIII

Hannibal

demands the

surrender of

Decius Magius.

The demand

granted,

and Magius is

conducted to

Hannibal's

camp.

He is put on
board a vessel to
go to Carthage.

JO. Next day Hannibal attended a full meeting of the
senate. The first part of his address was very conciliatory and
friendly. In this he thanked the Campanians for having pre-
ferred his friendship to alliance with Rome, and among other
magnificent promises he assured them that Capua would
soon be the head of all Italy, and that even the Romans with its
other peoples would seek laws from their city. One man alone
was to have no part in the Carthaginian friendship and in the
treaty they had concluded with him, Decius Magius, a man
who was not and ought not to be called a Campanian. Of that
man he required the surrender, and in his own presence his case
must be considered and a resolution of the senate be passed.

All voted for the proposal, though many were of opinion
that the man did not deserve such a calamity, and that this
.was no slight beginning towards breaking down the rights of
freedom. Hannibal left the senate house, and taking his seat
on the magistrate's bench, ordered Decius Magius to be arrested,
set at his feet, and put on his defence. When the man, who still
retained his high spirit, urged that by the terms of the treaty
this could not be insisted on, he was thrown into chains, and
orders were given that he should be conducted to the camp,
with a lictor behind him. So long as he was led along with
his head uncovered, he harangued incessantly as he went,
shouting to the crowds that gathered round him, " You have,
" Campanians, the freedom which you sought. In the middle
" of the forum, in broad daylight, under your eyes, I who am
" inferior to no man of Campania, am dragged away in chains to
" execution. What worse violence could be done if Capua were
" a captured city ? Go and meet Hannibal, deck your streets
" and keep the day of his arrival as a holiday, so that you may
" gaze on this triumph over your fellow-citizens."

As the mob seemed to be excited at these shouts of his, his
head was covered and orders were given to hurry him swiftly out-
side the city gate. And so he was conducted to the camp, and
instantly put on board a vessel and despatched to Carthage.
Even the senate, it was thought, if a disturbance in the city were
provoked by this shameful business, might repent of having
surrendered their chief man, and, should an embassy be sent
for his recovery, they would either have to offend their new

SECOND PUNIC WAR. " 143

allies by refusing their first request, or else, by granting it, have BOOK xxiir.

to tolerate the presence of a leader of discord and disorder at

Capua.

A storm drove the vessel to Cyrense, which was then under The vessel h

If recked, and he

the nile of kings. Here Magius fled for refuge to the statue escapes to
of King Ptolema?us, whence he was conveyed by guards to
Alexandria into the king's presence. Having explained to
Ptolemaeus that he had been put in chains by Hannibal in
violation of the terms of a treaty, he was set at liberty and per-
mission to return to Rome or to Capua, as he chose, was granted
him. Magius said that Capua was not safe for him, while Rome,
during the war between the Romans and Campanians, would be
a home for a deserter rather than for a friendly visitor. There
was not a country where he would sooner live than the realm of
the prince in whom he had found the champion and upholder of
his freedom.

II. During these occurrences, Quintus Fabius Pictor, our Return 0/ the
envoy, returned from Delphi and read from a written document /rom^D^^'iu
the oracle's reply. The gods and goddesses to whom prayer was '"'f/ tl'^ omle'''
to be made, and the mode of making it, were given. Next it
said : " If, Romans, you will do accordingly, your plight will be
" better and easier, and your commonwealth will fare more as
" you would wish, and victory in the war will be with the people
" of Rome. When your state has prospered and has been saved,
" send to the Pythian Apollo a gift out of the gains you will
" have earned, and pay him honour out of the plunder, the booty,
" and the spoils. All levity put far from you."

This translated from the Greek verses he read aloud, and

then he said that on leaving the oracle he at once offered

sacrifice to all these gods and goddesses with wine and incense ;

that the presiding priest of the temple had bidden him go on

board his ship with the same laurel garland which he had worn

when he visited the oracle and performed the sacrifice, and

that, fulfilling all the directions prescribed him with the most

conscientious care and exactness, he had laid the garland on

[ the shrine of Apollo at Rome. The Senate decided that these

1 sacred rites and prayers should be carefully performed at Rome

I at the earliest opportunity.

During these proceedings in Rome and Italy, there had

144

LIVY.

Hatmihars
great victories

BOOK xxiir. arrived at Carthage with tidings of the victory at Cannae, Mago,
Mago arrives at Hamilcar's son. He had not been despatched by his brother
^""^news^'*^ from the actual battle-field, but had been detained some days in
receiving into alliance the Bruttian communities, as one after
another they revolted. As soon as a meeting of the senate had
been granted him, he recounted his brother's achievements in
Italy, how he had fought battles with six generals, four being
consuls, and two respectively a dictator and a master of the horse,
and with armies under consular command ; how he had slain
over two hundred thousand men, and taken over fifty thousand
prisoners. Of the four consuls two had fallen ; of the two remain-
ing one was wounded, and the other, after losing his entire army,
had barely escaped with fifty men. The master of the horse
had been routed and put to flight ; the dictator, as he had never
trusted himself to fight, was reputed a peerless general. The
Bruttians and Apulians, some of the Samnites and Lucanians,
had revolted to Carthage ; Capua, the head not only of Campania
but even of Italy after the prostration of Rome by the battle of
Cannas, had given itself up to Hannibal. For so many great
victories it was reasonable that there should be a formal
thanksgiving to the immortal gods.

12. Then in confirmation of such joyful intelligence, he bade
them pour on the threshold of the senate house rings of gold in
so vast a heap as to make up, when measured, three pecks and a
half according to some authors. But the prevalent and more
probable report is that they did not exceed one peck. After-
wards he explained, to prove the disaster was yet greater than
it seemed, that only a knight, and of the knights only the first
in rank, wore this ornament. The drift of his speech was that
He exhorts kis the nearer was Hannibal's prospect of ending the war, thfl
countrymen to more ought they to support him with assistance of every kind
Hannibah He was fighting far from home in the heart of an enemy**
country ; there was a vast consumption of provisions and money,
and so many battles, though they had destroyed whole arniies
of the enemy, had to some extent reduced the forces of the con-
queror as well. They ought therefore to send reinforcements ;
they ought to send money for pay and provisions to troops
which had deserved so well of the name of Carthage.

Amid the universal joy that followed Mago's words, Himilco,

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 145

a man of the Barcine faction, who thought he saw room for book xxiii.
taunting Hanno, said : "Well, Hanno, do you still repent of our huuHco taunts
" having made war on the Romans ? Bid us surrender Hannibal ; Hanno ivUk
" tell us we are not to render thanks to the immortal gods for opposition to the
" such successes. Let us hear the voice of a Roman senator in '^"'^'

"the Carthaginian Assembly House." Hanno replied ; " I would Hanno' s reply.
" have been silent to-day, fellow senators, rather than say amid
" the common rejoicing of all what may not be quite welcome to
" you. Now, however, when asked by a senator whether I still
" repent o'f our having made war on the Romans, you would see
"in me, were I to be silent, a temper either haughty or servile.
" The first is the character of the man who forgets the freedom
" of others ; the latter that of him who forgets his own.

" My answer," he went on to say, " to Himilco is that I have

"not ceased to repent of the war, and that I never shall cease

" to find fault with your invincible general till I see the war

"ended on some tolerable terms. Nothing, indeed, but a new

"peace will terminate my regret for the peace of old days.

"And so what Mago hast just boastfully told us to the present

"dehght of Himilco and Hannibal's other partisans, may

" dehght me, because success in war, if we choose to use our

"good fortune, will give us a more favourable peace. If, indeed,

"we let slip this opportunity when we may have the credit of

" offering peace rather than of accepting it, I am afraid that even

"this our present rejoicing will grow wanton and end in vanity.

" And yet even now what does it mean ? * I have destroyed

" whole armies of the enemy ; send me soldiers.' What else

j " would you ask had you been beaten ? ' I have taken two of

1 " the enemy's camps, full, of course, of booty and provisions ;

I "give me corn and money.' What else would you want from us

1 " had you been despoiled and deprived of your camp } And that

j" I may not merely express my own surprise at everything, let

("me say — fori too, since I have answered Himilco, have the

j" fullest right to ask a question — that I should wish that either

1" Himilco or Mago would reply. The fight at Cannas, you say,

j"was almost the destruction of Rome's empire, and all Italy is

"admitted to be in revolt. Has any nation of Latin race revolted

;" to us ? has a single man of the five-and-thirty Roman tribes

''deserted to Hannibal ?"

145 LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. 13. Mago's reply was a denial in both cases. "Then too

.Mago's answer.

"many of the enemy," said Hanno, "still remain. But I should
"li've to know what is the temper, what the confidence of
"this vast host." Mago said that of this he knew nothing.
" Nothing may be more easily known," was Hanno's answer.
" Have the Romans sent any envoys to Hannibal to treat
" for peace ? Have you had news of any mention at all of
"peace at Rome?"

To this again Mago said No. " Then we have," said Hanno,
"a war upon our hands just as fresh as on the day when
" Hannibal crossed over into Italy. Many of us are still alive
" to remember the frequent alternations of victory in the former
" Punic war. Never did our fortunes seem more prosperous
" both by sea and land than previous to the consulship of Caius
" Lutatius and Aulus Postumius. As soon as they were consuls,
" we were utterly defeated at the .(Agates islands. And if now
" too (the gods avert the omen !) fortune somewhat change, do
" you hope, when vanquished, for the peace which, now that we
" are victorious, no one offers ? I have indeed an opinion to
" express, if the question is to be whether we are to offer the
" enemy peace or to accept it ; but if you mean to discuss Mago's
^^^ i^demands, I maintain that we have no business to send what he
^^" asks to a conquering army, still less ought we to send it when
" they are deluding us with a vain and empty hope."

rt is decided A few Only were impressed by Hanno's speech. His feud with

Hanmbal. ^^^ Barcine family impaired the authority of his advice, and the
joy too which at the moment possessed all hearts made their
ears deaf to anything which might weaken the grounds of their
exultation. The war, they thought, would soon be over, if they
resolved to exert themselves a litde. And so with the heartiest
unanimity a vote was carried in the senate to send Hannibal, as
reinforcements, four thousand Numidians, with forty elephants
and a supply of money. An officer with supreme powers was
sent on at once with Mago into Spain to raise twenty thousand
infantry and four thousand horse to fill up the ranks of the
armies in Italy and Spain.

Energy 0/ the \\. All this, howevcr, was done as tardily and languidly as

is usual in the midst of success. The plight of the Romans a;
well as their natural energy kept them from being dilatory. The

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 147

consul failed not in any duty which he had to discharge, and the book xxiii.

dictator, Marcus Junius Pera, after due performance of the sacred

rites and the customary application to the popular assembly

for permission to use a horse, not content with the two city

legions which the consuls had raised early in the year, a levy of

slaves and a muster of troops from Picenum and Gaul, stooped

to the last resource of a country almost past hope, when honour

must yield to necessity. He issued a proclamation addressed

to all who had committed capital offences or who were in prison

as convicted debtors, that such of them as should serve as

soldiers under him should by his authority be released from

punishment and debt. Six thousand of these men he equipped

out of the Gallic spoils, which had been carried in the triumph

of Caius Flaminius, and so he marched from Rome with

twenty-five thousand armed soldiers.

After receiving the submission of Capua and making another Hannibaiin tkr
fruitless appeal to the hopes and fears of the Neapolitans, "^'^ Noia."
Hannibal led his army into the country round Nola. His
attitude indeed was not immediately hostile, as he did not
despair of a voluntary surrender, but he meant, should they long
disappoint his hopes, to spare the people nothing in the way of
all possible suffering or terror. The senate, especially the Dhsensiofis
leading men, loyally aidhered to their alliance with Rome ; the ciUz'm"ofNoia.
commons, as usual, were all for change and devoted to Hannibal,

I while they let their thoughts dwell on the horror of ravaged
fields and the many hardships and indignities they would have

ito endure in a siege. Instigators of revolt too were not wanting.

JThus the senators, seized with apprehension that if they openly

'Stood their ground there was no possibility of resisting the

linfuriated populace, found means to defer the calamity by

feigning compliance. They pretended that they liked the notion

si revolt to Hannibal, but that it was far from clear on what

cerms they would be entering into a new treaty and alliance.

I Having thus secured some delay, they despatched envoys with Envoys sent to

ill speed to the Roman praetor, Marcellus, who was with an Marceilm.

jirmy at Casilinum. They explained to him how extreme was

jhe jeopardy of the people of Nola ; how their territory was in

;he hands of Hannibal and the Carthaginians, how their city

j/ould be his forthwith, unless they received aid. By conceding

1 L 2

LIVY.

BOOK XXIII.

Caiazzo

t Sessola.

A rrival of
Marcelltis.

X Nocera.

Surrender of
Nuceria to
Hannibal,

A citizen of

NoCa ivishes to

surrender the

town to

Hawiibal.

a promise to the populace that they would revolt when they
wished, the senate had prevailed on them not to rush into
instant revolt.

Marcellus warmly praised the citizens of Nola, and bade
them delay matters till his arrival by the same pretexts. Mean-
while they were to conceal what had passed between them and
himself and all prospect of help from Rome. From Casilinum
he directed his march towards Caiatia,* whence, after crossing
the Vulturnus, he reached Nola through the district of Saticula
and Trebula over the hills above Suessula.t

15. On the arrival of the Roman praetor, the Carthaginian
quitted the territory of Nola and marched down to the sea,
close to Naples. He was eager to possess himself of a town
on the coast, that ships might have a safe passage from Africa ;
but as soon as he heard that the place was held by a Roman
officer (Marcus Junius Silanus was there, invited by the citizens
themselves), he passed by Naples as he had Nola, and made
for Nuceria. t For some time he besieged the place, frequently
attacking it, frequently addressing vain solicitations now to the
populace, now to the chief men, till at last he obtained its sur-
render by famine on the understanding that the inhabitants
were to leave it without arms and with one garment apiece.
Then, inasmuch as from the first he had wished to seem friendly
to all Italians, except Romans, he offered rewards and honours
to those who remained and were willing to serve under him.
Not a man, however, did he secure by this prospect. They all
fled hither and thither, wherever ties of friendship or the im-
pulse of the moment urged them, through the towns of Cam
pania, to Nola and Naples especially. About thirty senators
all, as it happened, of the first rank, made for Capua, and finding
themselves shut out because the Capuans had closed their gate
against Hannibal, took refuge at Cum«. The spoil of Nucerii|
was given to the soldiers ; the city was plundered and burn]
Marcellus held Nola as much by the good-will of its leadii^
men as by confidence in his garrison. The populace he dreadec
and above all one Lucius Bantius. The conscious guilt
attempted revolt and fear inspired by the Roman praetc
prompted this man at one moment to betray his birthplace,
another, should fortune fail him in this, to desert to the enemjl

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 149

He was a youth of spirit, and the noblest knight of the time book xxiii.

among all our allies. Hannibal had found him half dead at

Cannae amid a heap of slain ; he had treated him kindly, had

even made him a present, and so sent him home. Gratitude for

these favours made him wish to hand over Nola to the control

and dominion of the Carthaginians, and the prastor saw that

he was restless and disquieted by thoughts of revolution.

As the man had to be either checked by punishment or won by Marceihis wins
kindness, Marcellus thought it better that a brave and energetic kTndwo^sand
ally should be secured for himself than lost to the enemy. He promises.
therefore invited him to his quarters and spoke kindly to him.
" You have a host of envious fellow-citizens," he said, " and
" hence one may easily infer, what no citizen of Nola has told
" me, how numerous have been your noble deeds in war. How-
" ever, if a man has once been a soldier in a Roman camp, his
" valour cannot remain hidden. Many who have served with
" you tell me what a brave man you are, what dangers you have
" repeatedly encountered for the safety and honour of the
" Roman people, and how you never quitted the field of Cannae
" till you were buried almost lifeless under a falling mass of
" men, horses, and arms. And so. Heaven's blessing on your
" valour. From me you shall have every distinction and reward ;
" and that you may be the oftener with me, you shall see that
" this means both honour and advantage to you."

The young man was delighted at these promises. Marcellus

presented him with a splendid charger, and bade his quaestor

; count out for him five hundred silver coins. His lictors had

orders to allow him to visit him as often as he pleased. This

' courtesy on the part of Marcellus so completely subdued the

I temper of the high-spirited youth, that from that time Rome

' had not a braver and more loyal champion among her allies.

j 16, Hannibal being once more before the gates of Nola ,^f""'^j'^'

(he had again moved his camp thither from Nuceria), and the

1 populace once more thinking of revolt, Marcellus on the enemy's

! approach had retired within the walls. He did not fear for his

jcamp. but no opportunity of betraying the town would he give

!to those too numerous citizens who were intent on treachery.

Both armies now began to array themselves for battle, the

'"■''mian army before the walls of Nola, the Carthaginians in

before Nola.

decides to fight.

150 LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. front of their camp. Hence ensued skirmishes with varying
result between the town and the camp, as the generals did not
choose either to hold back the few soldiers who rashly challenged
their foes or to give the signal for a general engagement.

Such being now the position day after day of the two armies,
the leading citizens of Nola told Marcellus that there were
nightly communications between the commons and the Cartha-
ginians, and that it had been decided to plunder the baggage
and property of the Roman troops as soon as they marched
out of the gates, then to close the gates and take possession of
the ramparts, intending to admit the Carthaginians instead of
the Romans the moment they had the control of their own
Marcellus ^^ affairs and of the town. Marcellus, on receiving this informa-
tion, highly commended the senators of Nola, and resolved to
try the fortune of battle before any disturbance broke out in
the town.

He drew up his army in three divisions at three gates facing
the enemy, with orders that the baggage was to follow close
behind, and that the soldiers' servants, the sutlers, and the in-
valids were each to carry a stake. At the middle gate he posted
the main strength of his legions and his Roman cavalry, at the
other two his raw recruits, his newly-enlisted men, and his light-
armed troops. The inhabitants of Nola were not allowed to
approach the walls or the gates, and the force intended as a
reserve was assigned to the baggage, so that an attack might
not be made on it when the legions were engaged in the fight.

Thus drawn up they stood within the gates. Hannibal, who,
as he had done for several days, had his troops under arms
till a late hour, was first of all astonished that the Roman army
did not march out of the city, and that not a single armed
soldier appeared on the walls. Concluding that the secret of
the communications had been betrayed, and that fear kept his
friends quiet, he sent back part of his troops to their camp witl
orders to bring up to the front all the appliances for an assauli
as he was confident that, if he met hesitation with prompt action
the populace would raise some disturbance in the town. Whili
all were hurrying in bustle and excitement to their severa
posts amid the foremost standards and the front line wai
approaching the wall; suddenly the gate was thrown open, at th<

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

151

order of Marcellus the trumpet sounded the signal, a shout was book xxiii.
raised, and first the infantry and then the cavalry flung them-
selves on the enemy with all the fury of their fiercest attack.
They had already carried terror and confusion enough into
the centre of his line, when from the two adjacent gates the
lieutenants, Valerius Flaccus and Caius Aurelius, burst upon
his flanks. Added to all this came a shout from the sutlers
and soldiers' servants and the rest of the crowd set to guard the
baggage. To the Carthaginians, who were specially scornful of
the scanty numbers of the foe, this gave the sudden semblance
of an immense army. I would not myself venture to affirm what
some authors state, that two thousand eight hundred of the
enemy were slain, with a loss of not more than five hundred
Romans. However, whether the victory was as great or less
considerable, a mighty result, the greatest perhaps throughout
the war, was achieved that day. For indeed not to be defeated
by Hannibal was for the victors on that occasion a harder matter
than it was afterwards to defeat him.

17. As soon as Hannibal, who had now lost all hope of
possessing himself of Nola, had retired to Acerras,* Marcellus in- * Acerra.
stantly closed the city gates, setting guards at them that no one
might go out, and then held an inquiry in the forum on the men
who had been in secret communication with the enemy. More
than seventy he convicted and beheaded ; their property was
by his order confiscated for the uses of the Roman people ; the
senate was invested with supreme authority, and Marcellus
marched out with his whole army and established himself in a
camp overlooking Suessula.

The Carthaginian at first attempted to persuade Acerrae to a
voluntary surrender, but on seeing that the inhabitants were
resolute, he prepared for a siege and an assault. The towns-
folk had more courage than strength. Despairing of the Hannibal
defence of their city when they saw the blockade closing '^''^'"^^^^''^"**'-
round their walls, they stole away in the silence of night,
before the circle was completed, through any gap in the lines or
at any negligently guarded point, and with or without the track
J of roads to guide them they fled, as design or chance suggested,
! to those cities of Campania which it was certain had not thrown
off their allegiance.

152

LIVY.

Marches on
Casilinnju.

Perugia.

Sieg^e of
Casilinum.

After plundering and burning Acerrae, Hannibal, who had
received intelligence from Casilinum that the Roman dictator was
advancing with his legions, and feared some revolutionary move-
ment also in Capua with the enemy's camp in such close proximity,
marched his army to Casilinum. The place was then held by
five hundred citizens of PrEeneste, and with them were a few
Romans and men of Latin nationality, whom the news of the
battle of Cannae had driven thither for refuge. The levy at
Prasneste not having been completed by the proper day, these
five hundred had left their homes too late. They had reached
Casilinum before the news of the defeat, and being there joined
by other Romans and allies, they had marched out of the town
in considerable force, when tidings of the battle turned them
back to it. There, notwithstanding the suspicions of the Cam-
panians and their own fears, they passed some days in securing
themselves against plots and in hatching plots in their turn,
till they knew as a certain fact that negotiations were on foot
for the revolt of Capua and the admission of Hannibal. Then
they inassacred the townsfolk by night and seized the part of
the city on this side of the Vulturnus, the river which divides
it. And so the Romans had this force as a garrison at Casilinum.
There was also in addition a cohort from Perusia* of four
hundred and sixty men, driven to Casilinum by the same
news which a few days before had driven thither the men of
Praeneste. There were about enough armed soldiers to defend
so small an extent of walls, surrounded too as the place was on
one side by a river. Want of corn, however, made the number
of men seem actually excessive.

1 8. As soon as Hannibal was within a moderate distance
of the place, he sent forward some Gaetulians, under an officer ^
named Isalcas, with orders, first of all, in the event of a friendly
interview being possible, to coax the citizens with kindly words
into opening their gates and admitting a garrison ; but, should
they persist in obstinate resistance, to resort to force and try an
assault on any part of the city that might be practicable. When
they approached the walls, all was silent, and it seemed a soli-
tude. Fear, so the barbarian thought, had driven them away,
and he was preparing to storm the gates and break down the
barriers, when suddenly they were thrown open, and two cohorts,

J

SECOND rUNIC WAR.

153

drawn up inside for this express purpose, burst forth with a great BOOK XXlll.
tumultuous rush and made havoc of the enemy. The foremost
ranks having been thus beaten back, Maharbal was despatched
with a stronger force of the best soldiers, but even he could not
sustain the furious onset of the cohorts. At last Hannibal
pitched his camp before the walls, and, small as was the place
and small the garrison, prepared for an attack in full force, with
his whole army. While he was threatening and harassing the
town, having drawn his lines completely round the walls, he
lost several of his soldiers, and these his bravest men, struck
down from the rampails and towers. Once, when they in their
turn attacked, he all but cut them off by confronting them
with a troop of elephants, and drove them back in confusion to
their walls with considerable loss for such a mere handful of men.
More would have been slain had not night stopped the fighting.
Next day the heart of every soldier was fired with ardoiar for
the assault ; the more so when a golden wreath was offered for
the first man on the rarnparts, and when Hannibal himself
taunted the captors of Saguntum with their tardy efforts to storm
a fortress which stood on level ground, and reminded them one
and all of Cannae, Trasumennus, and Trebia. The regular siege-
works and mines were then applied, nor again did the Roman
allies fail to meet the various attempts of the enemy with force
and skill of every kind. The siege-works they encountered with
barriers for defence, a.nd the hostile mines they intercepted with
counter-mines, thus opposing a resistance to every open or secret
attack, till actual shame turned Hannibal from his purpose. He
fortified a camp, leaving in it a moderate force, that the siege
1 might not be regarded as abandoned, and retired into winter
I quarters at Capua.

1 Here for most of the winter he had his army under cover.
I Often and long had it steeled itself against every human hard-
'ship, and of comfort it had had no trial or experience. And
jthus the men whom no intensity of misery had conquered, were
[now ruined by a superfluity of good things and an excess of
'pleasure, all the more utterly, as from the novelty of these enjoy-
iments they plunged into them so greedily. Sloth, wine, feasting,
women, baths, and idle lounging, which, with daily habit, became
ncreasingly attractive, so enervated both- body and mind, that

Hannibal goes

into winter

quarters

at Capua ;

His troops

becotne

dcjitoralised.

154

LIVY.

Hannibal
continues the

siege of
Casilinmn .

BOOK XXIII. henceforth it was their past victories rather than their present
strength which saved them. This error of the general was con-
sidered by good judges of the art of war more fatal than his not
having marched instantly from the field of Cannse to Rome.
Delay on that occasion could be thought only to have deferred
victory ; this blunder sacrificed, as it seemed, the strength needful
for victory. And so undoubtedly, just as if it had been another
army with which he had left Capua, Hannibal kept up afterwards
none of his old disciplme. In fact, entanglements with women
made many of his men return thither, and the moment they
began to serve under canvas, and trenching and other military
duties came upon them, body and spirit alike gave way, as if
they had been raw recruits. From that time during the whole
period of the summer campaigns, numbers would steal away
from the ranks without leave, and it was Capua, and Capua only,
that was the hiding-place'of the deserters.

19. As winter gradually relaxed, Hannibal marched his
soldiers out of their quarters, and went back to Casilinum.
Though there had been a cessation from all attacks on the place,
still the prolonged blockade had reduced the inhabitants and the
garrison to the extremity of want. The Roman camp was under
the command of Tiberius Sempronius, as the dictator had gone
to Rome to renew the auspices. Marcellus was himself eager
to relieve the besieged, but he was detained alike by the swollen
waters of the river Vulturnus and the entreaties of the citizens
of Nola and Acerr^, who were in dread of the Campanians,
should the Roman force retire. Sempronius merely watched
Casilinum, without attempting any movement, as the dictator's
instructions were that he was not to engage in any operation
during his absence. Yet the news he received from Casilinum
was such as might easily overcome the utmost patience. It.
appeared, in fact, that some, rather than endure their hunger,
had flung themselves from the walls, while others stood on them
unarmed, with their bare bodies exposed to the blows of missiles.
All this Sempronius bore with impatience. As he dared not fig!
without orders from the dictator , (though fight he saw he mus
if he was openly to get corn into the place), and as there wajj
no prospect of introducing corn secretly, he collected grain fror
all the neighbouring country, filled a number of casks with it

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 155

and sent a message to the chief magistrate at Casilinum to have book xxiii.
any casks stopped which the river floated down. The following
night, when all were watching the stream, intent on the hopes Supplies of food
held out by the Roman message, the casks floated down the ^dZl/intoThe
mid-channel of the river, and the corn was equally distributed "''■''•

among the entire population. The same thing was done on the
next day and the day after. It was by night that the casks .were
despatched, and by night that they arrived ; thus the enemy's
sentries were eluded.

After a time the river became more than usually rapid
from continuous rains, and drove the casks by a cross eddy to
the side guarded by the enemy. There they were seen, sticking
in beds of willow which grew on the banks, and the matter
being reported to Hannibal, he set a stricter watch, so that
nothing sent to the town down the Vulturnus might escape
him. However, a vast quantity of walnuts, thrown out of the
Roman camp, and floated down the middle of the stream,
was caught on hurdles. At last the inhabitants were re-
duced to such want that they tried to chew leathern thongs
and the hides off their shields, steeped in hot water, and
scrupled not to devour mice, or, indeed, any living creature ;
even every kind of grass and roots they tore up from the bottom
of their walls. The enemy, having ploughed up all the grass-
grown surface outside the ramparts, they sowed it with rape,
upon which Hannibal exclaimed, " Am 1 to sit still before
Casilinum till those seeds grow?" He who hitherto had not
listened to a word about stipulations, now at last allowed them
to discuss with him the ransom of free-born citizens. Seven
ounces of gold was the price agreed on for each. Having Surrender
received a guarantee of safety, they surrendered. They were "f Casilinum.
kept in chains till all the gold was paid. Then they were sent
jback to Cannas under protection. This is more probable than
I that they were charged by the cavalry as they were leaving, and
icut to pieces. Most of them were natives of Pra^neste. Out
!of five hundred and seventy who were in the garrison, some-
iwhat less than half had perished by hunger or the sword ; the
test returned in safety to Prasneste with their officer, Marcus
'Anicius, who had formerly been a clerk. His statue marked the
pvent, set up, as it was, in the forum at Prc-eneste, mailed, clad in

i=;6

LIVY,

■\ StrongoH.

Fidelity of

Petelia to the

cause oj" Rome.

BOOK XXIII, a toga, and with the head covered, and there were three standards
with this inscription on a bronze 'plate : — " Marcus Anicius
" vowed this vow for the soldiers who served in garrison at
" Casilinum." The same inscription was written under three
standards deposited in the temple of Fortune.

20. The town of Casilinum was restored to the Campanians
and garrisoned by a force of seven hundred men from Hannibal's
army, that it might not be attacked by the Romans after the
withdrawal of the Carthaginians. The Roman Senate voted
double pay and five years' exemption from service to the soldiers
from Prseneste. When the Roman franchise was offered them for
their valour, they elected to make no change in their condition.
History is less clear as to the treatment of the citizens of
* Perugia. Perusia,* as no light is thrown upon it by any monument of
their own, or by any vote of the Romans,

At this same time the people of Petelia,t the only Bruttian
community which had been steadfast to its friendship with
Rome, were assailed, not only by the Carthaginians, who were
in occupation of their country, but ;also by the other Bruttians,
from whose cause they had separated thernselves. Being quite
unable to hold out against their, troubles, they sent envoys to
Rome, to beg for protection. The entreaties and tears of these
men, who had burst into doleful complainings at the doors of the
Senate House, where they were told that they must take care of
themselves, moved the Senators and the Commons to the
deepest commiseration. Again the question was submitted to
the Senate by the praetor, Marcus ^milius, and after an
anxious review of the resources of the empire, they were con-
strained to confess that they had no longer any means of pro-j
tecting distant allies. They bade them return home ; they had'
done all that loyalty demanded ; and they rnust now face theii
position, and do the best they could for themselves.

As soon as the result of the embassy was reported at Petelia.
such sudden grief and terror overwhelmed their senate, that
some proposed flight, each man escaping as he could, and the
desertion of their city, while some were for joining the othei
Bruttians, and through their intervention surrendering to Han-j
nibal. That party, however, prevailed which contended tha
nothing was to be done hurriedly and rashly, and that they oughl

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

157

to reconsider the matter. Next day it was discussed with
less agitation, and it was decided, through the influence of the
aristocracy, that everything was to be removed from the country,
and that the city and its walls were to be strengthened for
defence.

21. Despatches came to Rome about the same time from
Sicily and Sardinia. The despatch from Titus Otacilius, pro-
praetor of Sicily, was first read out before the Senate. It stated
that Lucius Furius, the praetor, had arrived at Lilybasum * with
a fleet froln Africa ; that he was severely wounded and in the
utmost danger of his life ; that the troops and seamen had
neither pay nor corn from day to day, and that there were no
means of furnishing it. He strongly advised them to send such
supplies as soon as possible, and if they thought fit, one of the
new prcCtors as successor to himself.

A despatch to much the same effect as to soldiers' pay and
corn was sent by Aulus Cornelius Mammula, pro-praetor of
Sardinia. Both he and Otacilius received for answer that there
were no means of sending either, and they were bidden to do
their best for their fleets and armies. Otacilius having sent
envoys to Hiero, the only remaining stay of the Roman people,
obtained from him as much money as he required for pay, and
corn for six months. Cornelius in Sardinia received liberal
contributions from the allied communities. At Rome too, in
consequence of the scarcity of money, three finance-commis-
sioners were appointed on the proposal of Marcus Minucius,
tribune of the Commons. They were Lucius ^Emilius Papius,
who had been consul and censor, Marcus Atilius Regulus, who
had been twice consul, and Lucius Scribonius Libo, who was
then tribune of the Commons. Two commissioners were also
appointed, Marcus and Caius Atilius, for the dedication of the
temple of Concord, which had been vowed by the praetor
Lucius Manlius. And there was an election of three pontiffs,
I Quintus Cascihus Metellus, Quintus Fabius Maximus, and Quintus
j Fabius Flaccus, into the places of Publius Scantinius, who had
idied, of Lucius ^milius Paullus, the consul, and Quintus .(Elius
Paetus, both of whom had fallen in the battle of Cannae.

22. The Senators having, as far as it was possible for human
♦'^v«thought, made up for the losses which fortune had inflicted

BOOK XXIII.

Bnii news frpm
Sicily and
Sardinia.

* Marsala.

Hiero is still

faithful to

Rome.

Reduced

numbers of i/te

Senate.

158

LIVY.

the Latin
cojnmunities.

BOOK XXIII. on them by a succession of disasters, began at last to look
anxiously to themselves, to the solitude of the Senate House, and
the scanty numbers of those who met for public business. Indeed,
since the consulship of Lucius ^milius and Caius Flaminius,
the list of Senators had not been revised, although during those
five years so large a number had been swept off in the reverses
of war, not to speak of ordinary casualties to individuals. At
the urgent demand of all, the matter was brought forward
for discussion by the praetor, Marcus ^milius, the dictator
having at once left Rome for the army after the loss of Casi-
linum. Spurius Carvilius then in a long speech deplored the
paucity, or rather absolute dearth, of citizens out of whom
Proposal to elect Senators could be chosen, and went on to sav that, to fill up the

Senators out of . .,„ it-i ,',

■ - number of the Senate and to bind to themselves more closely

the Latin communities, he recommended as a most important
step the granting of the franchise to two Senators out of each
of these communities, should the Roman Senate approve, and
their election into the place of deceased Senators.

The Senate heard the proposal with as much impatience as
they had formerly listened to the demand of the Latins them-
selves. A murmur of indignation ran through the whole Senate
House, Manlius especially exclaiming, " Even now there is a man
" of that same stock from which sprang that consul in the days of
" old who threatened to slay with his own hand any Latin whom
" he saw in the House." Quintus Fabius Maximus replied that,
" Never had anything been mentioned in the Senate at a more
"inappropriate time than this allusion, calculated, as it was, j
" additionally to disturb the minds of the allies, just while their I
" temper was so undecided, and their loyalty was wavering ; |
" that this rash speech of a single man ought to be buried in a
" universal silence ; and indeed, if ever there had been in the f
" Senate House a secret so sacred as to require silence, this
"above all things should be hidden, concealed, forgotten,
"regarded as unsaid."

This quashed all further mention of the subject. It was
decided to appoint as dictator to revise the senatorian roll a '
man who had previously been censor, and indeed the oldest
of the ex-censors who were living. A vote was also passed to
summon the consul Caius Terentius to nominate the dictator.

// is rejected.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

159

Terentius hurried back to Rome by forced marches from
Apulia, where he left a garrison, and on the following night, as
was customary, he named Marcus Fabius Buteo dictator for
six months, without a master of the horse, in accordance with
the Senate's resolution.

23. Having mounted the rostra with his lictors Fabius said,
" I do not approve of there being two dictators at one time, a
" thing never done before, or of being dictator myself without
" a master of the horse, or of the censor's authority being
" centred in one man, in the same man indeed for a second time,
" or of giving supreme power for six months to a dictator, un-
" less he is appointed to carry on the government. Where any
•'transgression of due limits has been occasioned by fate,
' circumstances, or necessity, I will myself fix a limit. I will
" not remove from the Senate any of those whom the censors,
" Caius Flaminius and Lucius ^milius, chose into that body ;
" I would merely require the names to be copied and read out,
" as I do not wish a verdict or decision on a Senator's character
" to rest with one man. The places of deceased Senators I will
" so fill up as to show that I am guided by a preference of class
" to class, not of individual to individual."

After reading out the list of the old Senate, Fabius first
chose into the places of deceased members all who subsequently
to the censorship of Lucius ^milius and Caius Flaminius hai
held the higher curule offices, but had not yet been admitted
iSenators. " He took them in the order of their previous appoint-
ments, and then he chose such as had been sediles, tribunes of
jhe Commons, and quaestors. Next, he made his selection from
|hose who had not indeed held office, but who had the spoils of
|m enemy set up in their houses, or who had obtained a crown
;or saving a citizen's life. Having thus added to the Senate a
jiundred and seventy-seven members, he at once retired from
iffice, and stepped down from the rostra a private citizen, his
ictors having had orders to depart. And then he mingled with
jie groups of citizens who were transacting their private busi-
';ess, purposely thus passing away the time that he might not
like them from the forum to escort him home. But notwith-
anding this delay, men's interest in him did not die away, and
ley attended him to his house in crowds. On the following

BOOK XXIII.

A dictator

appointed to

realise the list oj

Senators.

' Speech of the
new dictator.

The dictator's
revision of the
Senatorian list.

i6o

LIVY.

-BOOK XXI 1 1, night the consul went back to his army without informing the
Senate, that he might not be detained at Rome on account of
the elections.

24. Next day the Senate on being consulted by the praetor,
Marcus Pomponius, passed a resolution to communicate with
the dictator and request that, if he thought it for the public
good, he would come to Rome with the master of the horse and
the praetor Marcus Marcellus to appoint new consuls. The
Senators would then be able to learn from their own lips what
was the position of the State and to take measures accordingly.
All came who were summoned, leaving behind them officers to
command the legions. The dictator after a few modest words
about himself claimed most of the glory for Tiberius Sempronius
Gracchus, the master of the horse, and then gave notice of the
elections, in which were to be appointed consuls, Lucius
Postumius, for a third time in his absence, then holding the
province of Gaul, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who was
master of the horse and curule aedile. The new praetors were
Marcus Valerius Laevinus, Appius Claudius Pulcher, Quintus
Fulvius Flaccus, and Ouintus Mucius Scaevola. The dictator,
having appointed these magistrates, returned to his army in
winter quarters at Teanum,* leaving the master of the horse at
Rome, who being about to enter on office, might take the
Senate's opinion as to the levy and equipment of armies for the
coming year.

Just when they were most busy with these matters, a fresh
disaster was reported, for fate heaped calamity on calamity that
year. Lucius Postumius, the consul elect, himself and his army,
it was said, had been destroyed in Gaul. He was about to
march his troops through a vast forest, which the Gauls called
Litana. On its right and left sides, along the Roman route, tb<
Gauls had cut the trees in such a manner that though the)
would stand, if undisturbed, they must fall at the impulse of ;
slight blow. Postumius had two Roman legions, and ha(
raised from the coasts of the Upper Sea such a force of allie
that he marched into the enemy's country with twenty-fiv'
thousand armed men. Having posted themselves on the border;
of the forest, the Gauls gave a push to the outermost of th(
trees which they had undermined, the moment the arm)

Civitate.

Tidings of a

disaster in

Gaul to a

Roman army.

I

SECOND rUNlC WAR.

i6i

entered the pass. One tree fell on another, itself insecure and BOOK XXIII.
barely standing, and arms, men, and horses, were overwhelmed
on both sides by the falling mass, so that scarce ten men escaped.
Most of them having been killed by the trunks of the trees or by
broken boughs, the Gauls who occupied the whole forest in armed
force, slaughtered the remainder, whom the unexpected disaster
had confounded. Out of that vast host a few only were taken
prisoners ; these were making for a bridge over a river and were
intercepted by the enemy, by whom the bridge had been pre-
viously secured. There Postumius fell, fighting with all his
might to save himself from capture. The Boii bore in triumph
the spoils they had taken from the general's person, and his head,
which they had cut off, to a temple reputed the most sacred
in their country. Then having after their fashion cleared
out the contents of the head, they set the scalp in gold,
and it served them as a sacred vessel for libations in their
solemn rites. It was also used as a drinking-cup by the priest
and by the ministers of the temple. The plunder too taken by
the Gauls was as great as their victory. For though most of the
beasts were crushed by the downfall of the trees, all else, as
nothing was lost in the confusion of flight, was found strewn
I along the line where the army lay,

1 25. On the news of this calamity, the citizens were for many

; days in such alarm that all shops were shut, and a solitude as of

j night reigned through Rome. The Senate assigned to the

jasdiles the business of going round the city and ordering the

I shops to be opened, and the display of public grief to be with-

Idrawn from the streets. Tiberius Sempronius then called a

iSenate and spoke words of comfort and encouragement to the

jSenators. " They who had not succumbed under the catastrophe

i" of Cannae, must not let themselves be cowed by smaller mis-

' fortunes. If only matters went prosperously, as regarded the

' Carthaginian foe and Hannibal, and this he hoped for the

1' future, the war with the Gauls might be safely disregarded and

i' deferred, and the avenging of their disastrous blunder would

i' rest with Heaven and with the Roman people. It was the Car-

■ thaginian foe, and the armies with which they must wage the

u ir against him, which ought now to be the subject of their

deliberations and discussions."

I M

Grief and

distress at

Roine.

Encouraging
speech 0/ the

consul
Sempronius.

l62

I. IVY.

BOOK XXIII. Sempronius himself first stated in detail what infantry and
Preparations /or cavalry, what force of citizens and of allies, composed the dic-
the war. tator's army. Marcellus next fully explained the total amount of
his own troops. Inquiry was made of well-informed persons as
to the force which the consul, Caius Terentius, had in Apulia.
There was no attempt at calculating how consular armies of
adequate strength for such a war were to be made up, and it was
therefore decided to let Gaul alone for that year, notwithstanding
that a just resentment suggested action. The dictator's army
was assigned to the consul. As for the army of Marcellus, it
was agreed that such of the soldiers as had been in the flight at
Cannae should be transferred to Sicily and serve there, as long
as war continued in Italy. Thither also all the feeblest men
in the dictator's legions were to be removed without any fixed
period of service, except those who had been through the pre-
scribed number of campaigns. The two city legions were given
to the consul who should have been elected in the room of
Lucius Postumius. It was resolved to appoint him as soon as
it could be done without disregard of the auspices. Two legions
likewise were to be summoned from Sicily, each at the earliest
opportunity, and out of these the consul to whom might fall
the command of the city legions was to take as many soldiers
as he might require. The consul, Caius Terentius, was to have
his powers extended for the ensviing year, and there was to be
no reduction in the numbers of the army which he had fori
the defence of Apulia.

26. During these movements and preparations in Italy, th^
war in Spain went on as vigorously as ever. Up to this timi
however, it was favourable to the Romans. Publius and Cneiu
Scipio had divided their forces, Cneius conducting operations b
land, Publius by sea. The Carthaginian general, Hasdruba
who distrusted his resources in both respects, kept himself fa
away from the enemy, seeking safety in his distance and in hi
position, till after long and urgent entreaty a reinforcement <
four thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry was sent hij
from Africa. Thus at last with hopes revived he moved
camp nearer the foe, and personally directed the preparatif
and equipment of a fleet to defend the islands and the coaa
He was busily engaged in carrying out this new movement wh«

Ofieraiions
in Spain.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 163

the desertion of his ships'-captains struck him with dismay. He BOOK XXlil.
had censured them severely for abandoning his fleet on the
Ebro in panic, and since that occasion they had never been
really faithful either to their commander or to the interests of
Carthage. These deserters had prompted a movement among
the tribe of the Tartesii, some of whose towns had at their
instigation revolted. One town they had themselves taken by
assault. The Carthaginian arms were now turned from the
Romans against this tribe, and Hasdrubal having entered the
enemy's country with an invading army resolved to attack Hasdmhal
Chalbus, a renowned chief of the Tartesii, who with a strong tke revolted
force was posted in his camp before the walls of the town which ^''t^^^ <>/ spatn-
a few days previously had been captured. Accordingly he sent
on some light troops in advance to lure the enemy into fighting,
and scattered some of his infantry throughout the surrounding
country, to lay it waste and to intercept stragglers. Thus at one
and the same moment the camp was in commotion, and in the
country round there was flight and massacre. But after a while,
making their way back to the camp from all parts, and by every
j road, they lost their fears so completely that they had spirit enough
jHot only to defend their lines but even to challenge the enemy to
Ibattle. They rushed out of the camp in armed array, dancing
lin their native fashion, and their sudden daring struck terror
(into the foe who but just before had been himself the assailant.
jHasdrubal upon this marched his troops up a hill of moderate
[height, further protected by the barrier of a stream, and hither
the also withdrew the light-armed detachment sent on in advance
mrl his scattered cavalry. But as he did not trust much either Critical

iie hill or to the river, he intrenched his camp. While this of Hasdrulal.

mitual fear lasted, several skirmishes took place ; in these the

f^umidian trooper was no match for the Spaniard, or the Moor

vith his dart for his shield-bearing antagonist, who was as

:nible as himself and considerably his superior in resolute

mirage and enduring strength.

27. Finding that they could not lure the Carthaginians into
n engagement by showing themselves before their camp, and
lat to storm it was not easy, they took by assault the town of
scua, into which Hasdrubal on entering the enemy's territory had
'n\eyed corn and other supplies, and they possessed themselves

M 2

164

LIVY.

He is at last
victorious.

BOOK XXIII. of all the surrounding country. By this time, whether on the
march or in camp, they were no longer under the restraint of
authority. The heedlessness which, as oftens happens, followed
on success was observed by Hasdrubal. He urged his men to
fall on the enemy, all dispersed and out of their ranks as they
were, marched down the hill and advanced on their camp in
battle array. News of his near approach was brought by
bewildered fugitives from watch-towers and sentry-posts, and
there was a general call to arms. Every man snatched up his
weapons and rushed instantly into battle, without order or
signal or military formation. The foremost were already in
action, while others were running up in bands, and others again
had not yet quitted their camp. At first, however, their very
daring dismayed the enemy. Soon finding that they had chargedi
a dense mass, themselves a mere handful, and that they werej
far too few to be safe, they looked back, one on another, and,
repulsed on every side, formed in square. With limbs in close)
contact and arms touching, and pressed into a confined space;
in which they had scarcely room to move their weapons, they
were hemmed in by a circle of the enemy and cut down.tili
late in the day. A mere fraction of them made a rush out anc
fled to the forests and mountains ; the camp too was abandonee,,
in the same panic, and the whole tribe the next day surrenden
itself.

They did not long, however, remain at peace. Soon aft
wards instructions came from Carthage that Hasdrubal at t
earliest opportunity was to lead his army into Italy. The ne
as soon as it spread, turned nearly all men's sympathies througi
out Spain from Carthage to Rome. Hasdrubal accordingly l
once sent a despatch to Carthage, explaining what injury th
rumour of his departure had caused. " If he were really
" start on his march, Spain would be Roman territory before h
" crossed the Ebro, For not only had he neither a force nor
"general to leave in his place, but the Roman commanders we;
" such, that with equal strength it was barely possible to resii
"them. So if they had any care for Spain, they must sen
" some one to succeed him with a strong army, and he too, eve
" supposing that all went prosperously, would find the pre
" no light burden."

He receives
orders from

Carthage

to march into

Italy.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 165

28. Though this despatch at first made a deep impression on book XXlll.
the Carthaginian senate, still as Italy was first and chief in their HimUcosentto
thoughts, they would have no change as regarded Hasdrubal and ^^'^'Zad:"^/ ^'^^
his troops. Himilco was sent with a thoroughly efficient army Hasdrubal, who

. firepares to

and a reinforced fleet to hold and secure Spain by land and sea. march into
As soon as he had crossed with his military and naval armament, "'^'

he fortified a camp, hauled his vessels ashore and surrounded
them with intrenchments. With some picked cavalry and at all
possible speed, he then made his way to Hasdrubal, equally-
vigilant, whether the temper of the tribes through which he
passed was doubtful or hostile. Having explained the orders
and instructions of the senate, and pointed out himself in turn
how the war ought to be conducted in Spain, he went back to
his camp. His speed more than anything else insured his safety,
as he had got quite clear from the country before the people
could unite.

Hasdrubal did not move his camp till he had exacted con-
tributions in money from all the tribes under his control, for he
knew well that Hannibal had in some cases purchased his
passage for money, that he had procured his Gallic auxiliaries
I simply by hiring them, and that had he attempted such a march
j without any money he would hardly have penetrated as far as
[the Alps. So he hurriedly called in money-contributions and
imarched down to the Ebro.

j When the Carthaginian orders and the march of Hasdrubal The two Scipios
jcame to the knowledge of the Romans, both the generals at '"armut^
bnce put everything else aside, united their forces and prepared
to oppose and resist the enemy's plans. For they were per-.
Buaded that should such a general as Hasdrubal with his Spanish
jirmy effect a junction with Hannibal, himself alone a foe
iigainst whom Italy could hardly stand, it would be the end of
;<ome's empire. Harassed by such apprehensions, they drew
•heir armies together on the Ebro. After crossing the river and
Kilding a long consultation whether they should confront the foe
I be satisfied with keeping him from his proposed march by

eking Carthaginian allies, they prepared for an attempt on and prepare to
lown named Ibera from the neighbouring river, then the *neet Hasdrubai.
I chest in that part of the country. Hasdrubal on being aware
t this, instead of giving aid to his allies, proceeded himself

i66 LIVY.

BOOK XXI 1 1, to advance to the attack of a town which had lately put itself
under Roman protection. So the Romans abandoned the siege
already begun, and turned their arms against Hasdrubal
himself.

29. For a few days the hostile camps were separated by an
interval of five miles, and there were some trifling skirmishes,
without, however, any marching out to battle. At last on one
and the same day, as though by concert, the signal for action
was given on both sides, and with all their forces they advanced
into the open plain. The Roman army was drawn up in three
lines, part of the light troops being posted in front of the first
line and part behind the standards, while the cavalry closed in
the wings. Hasdrubal strengthened his centre with Spaniards,
placing his Carthaginians on the right wing, his Africans and
mercenary auxiliaries on the left. He stationed Numidian
troopers close to the Carthaginian infantry before one wing, and
the rest of his cavalry near the Africans in front of the other.
All his Numidians, however, were not posted on the right wing;,
only those who, like the circus-riders, were trained to control !
two horses, and often when the battle was at its hottest, would
leap in all their accoutrements from the weary to the fresh
steed ; such was their activity and so well trained was their breed
of horses.

Hasdrubal is It was thus that the armies were drawn up; the hopes of the

'^de/eate/. generals on either side were almost equally confident, as neither
in numbers nor in the character of the troops was there a decided
superiority with either Romans or Carthaginians. The spirit
the soldiery differed widely. The Romans, though they we:
fighting far away from their country, had easily been convin
by their officers that they were fighting for Italy and Ro;
Consequently, as if their return home depended on the issue of
battle, they had resolved in their hearts to conquer or die. Lei
resolute were the men in the other army. Most of them wei
Spaniards, who would rather be beaten in Spain than draggei
victorious into Italy. And so at the first onset, almost before th^
javelins had been thrown, the centre retreated, and when thi
Romans charged them with great impetuosity, turned and fled
The battle was quite as fierce on the wings. On this side thi
Carthaginian, on that the African, pressed his attack, assailinj

SECOND PUNIC WAK. 167

in front and rear an enemy almost surrounded. But the BOOK xxiil.

Roman army by this time had gathered all its force into its

centre, and was sufficiently strong to drive back the enemy's

wings. Thus there were two distinct battles, in each of which the

Romans, being superior, when once the enemy's centre had been

broken, both in numbers and strength, were decisively victorious.

A vast multitude fell on the field, and, but for the precipitate

flight of the Spaniards almost before the action had begun, there

would have been very few survivors out of the entire army.

Between the cavalry there was absolutely no fighting, for the

Moors and Numidians, as soon as they saw the centre give way,

instantly took to headlong flight, leaving the wings exposed, and

even driving the elephants before them. Hasdrubal remained

on the field till all was over, and then escaped with a handful

of men out of the midst of the slaughter. The Romans took

and plundered the camp. This battle secured for Rome the

allegiance of any waverers in Spain, while it did not leave

Hasdrubal the hope of remaining in the country with tolerable

safety, much less of marching his army into Italy. All this

having been made known at Rome by despatches from the

Scipios, there was joy, not so much at the victory as at the

hindrance of Hasdrubal's passage into Italy.

30. During these operations in Spain, Petelia in Bruttium Capture 0/
was stormed by Himilco, Hannibal's chief officer, within a few Cart/m<-iniaui.
months after the beginning of the siege. The victory cost the
Carthaginians much blood and many wounds, and it was the
force of hunger more than anything else which conquered the
besieged. After having devoured all their corn, and the flesh
of every species of quadruped, usual or unusual, they at last
prolonged life on hides of leather, on grass and roots and the
soft bark of trees, and leaves stripped from bushes. Nor were
jthey finally captured till they wanted strength to stand on the
jjwalls and carry their arms. Having thus recovered Petelia,
. Ithe Carthaginian general marched his army to Consentia.* The
' jplace was less obstinately defended, and in a few days he
jreceived its submission.
! About the same time a Bruttian army invested Croton,t a t Cotronc.
■ IGreek city, once mighty in arms and fighting-men, but then
. prought so low by a succession of great disasters that less than

* Cozenza.

i68

LIVY.

KOOK XXIII.

Croton
surrenders to a
Bnittian army.

Revolt oj Locri
from Rome,

* Reggio.

ami of Geioa,
king H zero's son.

His timely
death.

Funeral games

in liononr of

.■'Emilius

Lepidus.

two thousand citizens of all ages still survived. A city thus
empty of defenders fell an easy prey to the enemy. The citadel
only was saved, whither amid the confusion of the storming
some fled out of the midst of the slaughter. Locri, too, where
the populace was betrayed by the leading citizens, revolted to
the Bruttians and Carthaginians. Rhegium* alone in that part
of the country persisted to the last in its loyalty to Rome and
retained its independence. The same inclination to revolt
likewise reached Sicily, and even the house of Hiero did not
keep itself wholly free from desertion. Gelon, the eldest son
of the family, despising alike his father's old age and the
alliance of Rome, after the defeat of Cannae went oyer to the
Carthaginians, and would have disturbed Sicily had he not been
carried off, while he was arming the populace and exciting
our allies, by a death so timely that it actually threw suspicion
on his father.

Such were the events of the year, with their various issues, in
Italy, Sicily, and Spain. At its close Ouintus P'abius Maximus
asked leave of the Senate to dedicate the temple, which, when
dictator, he had vowed to Venus of Eryx. The Senate passed a
resolution that Tiberius Sempronius, the consul elect, should, as
soon as he entered on office, propose to the Commons a vote
authorising Quintus Fabius to be one of two commissioners for
the purpose of its dedication. In honour also of Marcus
-^milius Lepidus, who had twice been consul and augur, his
three sons, Lucius, Marcus, and Quintus, gave in the forum a
celebration of funeral games lasting three days, with twenty-two
pairs of gladiators. In their capacity of curule aediles Caius
Lcetorius and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the consul elect,
who during his aedileship had 6een master of the horse, celebrated
the Roman games, the ceremony occupying three days. The
plebeian games given by the asdiles Marcus Aurelius Cotta and
Marcus Claudius Marcellus were thrice solemnised. When the
third year of the Punic war came round, Tiberius Sempronius
entered on his office as consul on the first of March. Quintua
Fulvius Flaccus, who had previously been consul and censor,
and Marcus Valerius La;vinus, held respectively, as praetors, the
home and foreign jurisdiction. The provinces of Sicily and!
Sardinia fell to Appius Claudius Pulcher and Quintus Mucius

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 169

Scaevola. The Commons voted to Marcellus all the powers of a book xxiir.
consul, as he alone of Roman generals since the , disaster of Marcellus
Cannae had conducted operations successfully in Italy. consular powers.

31. The Senate the day on which they held their ^x%X Doubling of the
deliberation in the Capitol, passed a resolution that out of the -"STaita^'
double tax demanded that year, half should at once be called in,
and that from this immediate pay should be furnished to the
soldiers, except to those who had served at Cannae. With
respect to the armies, they decided that Tiberius Sempronius,
the consul, should appoint a day for the two city legions on
which they were to muster at Cales, whence they were to be
marched to Claudius's camp on Suessula. The legions at that Military
place, of which the army at Cannae had mainly consisted, were to "'/or'the'year^
be transported under Appius Claudius, the praetor, into Sicily
and those in Sicily were to be conveyed to Rome. Marcus
Claudius Marcellus was despatched to the army which on the
day appointed was to assemble at Cales, and he received orders
to march the city legions to Claudius's camp. Appius Claudius
sent Maecilius Croto, as his lieutenant, to take the command of
the old army and to conduct it to Sicily.

Men waited ac first in silent expectation for the consul to

j hold an election for the appointment of his colleague, but when

j after a while they saw that Marcellus had been purposely, as it

iwere, sent out of the way, the very man whom above all others

they wished to be made consul that year for his brilliant achieve-

jments when praetor, angry murmurs arose in the Senate House.

jThe consul, on perceiving this, said, " Both measures. Senators,

" were for the public advantage, the despatch of Marcus

r' Claudius to Campania for an exchange of armies, and the not

' "-iving notice of the elections until he had returned after the

ttlement of the business with which he was intrusted, so that

" } ()u might have as consul the man demanded by this crisis in

' public affairs and especially desired by yourselves." Thus

uiihing was said about the elections till Marcellus returned.

Meanwhile two commissioners were appointed, Quintus

lus Maximus, and Titus Otacilius Crassus, for the dedication,

: cctively, of the temples of Reason and of Venus of Eryx.

li stood on the Capitol, and were separated only by a water

ii.uinel. As to the three hundred Campanian knights who after

170

BOOK XXIII.

Marcellus
elected consul;

he abdicat/'s

i^ffice, and is

succeeded by

Fabius

Maxitnus.

Prodigies.

Distribution pf

the Roman

forces.

LIVY.

loyally serving their time in Sicily had come to Rome, a pro-
posal was made to the Commons that they should be Roman
citizens, and likewise burghers of Cumae, reckoning from the
day previous to the revolt of the Campanian community from
Rome. What chiefly prompted the motion was the assertion
of the men themselves, that they did not know to what people
they belonged, as they had left their old country and had not
yet been duly admitted into that to which they had returned.

As soon as Marcellus came back from the army, notice was
given of an election for the appointment of one consul in the
room of Lucius Postumius. Marcellus was chosen with the
utmost unanimity to enter on the office at once, but thunder
having been heard at the moment of his assumption of the
consulate, the augurs were summoned, and pronounced that
there was in their opinion a flaw in his election ; and the
Senators generally gave out that the appointment, now for the
first time, of two plebeian consuls, was not acceptable to the gods.
Marcellus having abdicated office, there was elected in his place
Fabius Maximus, now consul for the third time.

That year the sea glowed like fire ; at Sinuessa a cow gave
birth to a colt ; at Lanuvium blood trickled down the statues in
the temple of Juno Sospita, and round the temple there was a
rain of stones. For the last portent there was the usual nine
days' celebration of sacred rites, and the other prodigies were
duly expiated.

32. The consuls now divided the armies between them.
The army at Teanum, which had been under the dictator Marcus
Junius, fell to Fabius, Sempronius taking the command of thC;
volunteer slaves at that place, with twenty-five thousand of OUT
allies. To the praetor Marcus Valerius were assigned th
legions which had returned from Sicily, and Marcellus was sen
with a consul's powers to the army encamped at Suessula fo
the protection of Nola. The prstors of Sicily and Sardinii
started for those provinces. Public notice was given by th
consuls that whenever they summoned a meeting of the Senate
the Senators and all who had the privilege of speaking in th(
House were to assemble at the Capena Gate. Those praetor^
whose business was the administration of justice held theii
courts near the public reservoir ; here all litigants were directeci

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 171

to answer to their recognisances, and here law was administered book XXIII.
during the year.

Carthage, meanwhile, whence Mago, Hannibal's brother,
was on the point of crossing into Italy with twelve thousand
infantry, five hundred cavalry, twenty elephants, and a thousand
talents of silver, under a convoy of sixty war-ships, received the
news of her ill-successes in Spain and of the defection of almost
all the tribes in that country to Rome. Some would have Mago
with such a fleet and army give up Italy and turn his attention
to Spain, when suddenly the hope of recovering Sardinia
brightened the prospect. " There was," they were told, " but a
'' small Roman force there ; the old praetor, Aulus Cornelius,
" who knew the province thoroughly, was leaving, and a new
" governor was expected. Then, too, the hearts of the people
*' were weary of their long subjection ; last year the government
" had been harsh and extortionate. They were crushed by
" heavy taxes and unfair contributions of corn, and nothing was
" wanting but a head to lead them in revolt." Such was the
report of a secret embassy sent by the chief inhabitants, the
scheme having been organised mainly by Hampsicora, who was
then by far the first man in influence and wealth. This news
coming almost at the same moment, both bewildered and
encouraged them. Mago was despatched with his fleet and Mago despatched
forces to Spain, and Hasdrubal, to whom they voted an army ^^''Yos'paln"^'^
nearly equal to Mago's, was chosen to take the command in
Sardinia.

At Rome the consuls, after transacting all necessary business Roman

in the city, at once bestirred themselves for war. Tiberius /oVwar.'^

Sempronius gave his soldiers notice of a day by which they

jwere to assemble at Sinuessa, and Quintus Fabius, having first

jconsulted the Senate, issued orders that every one was to

fconvey his corn from the fields into fortified towns before the

'first of June. Whoever failed to do this was to have his estate

(plundered, his slaves sold by auction, and his farm-buildings

Iburnt. Even the praetors appointed to administer justice were

lot exempted from military duties. The praetor Valerius, it was

Iccided, was to go to Apulia and succeed to the command of the

irmy of Terentius, and, as soon as the legions from Sicily had

irrived,he was to use them for the defence of that district,and send

172

LIVY.

BOOK XXIIL
* Tarantc.
t Brindisi.

Philip of

j^Iacedon sends

an embassy to

Hannibal.

the troops of Terentius to Tarentum* under one of his lieutenant-
generals. Twenty-five ships were also given him with which to
guard the coast between Brundisium f and Tarentum. The
praetor, Quintus Fabius, had an equal number for the defence of
the coasts in the neighbourhood of Rome. To the pro-consul,
Terentius Varro, was assigned the business of levying troops in
Picenum, and of defending that country. Titus Otacilius, after
dedicating the temple of Reason on the Capitol, was sent to
Sicily with, the fullest powers, as admiral of the fleet.

33. All kings and nations were now attentively observing
this struggle between the two most powerful peoples of the
world. It was so especially with Philip, king of Macedon,
because he was comparatively near to Italy, being separated
from it only by the Ionian Sea. As soon as he heard by report
that Hannibal had crossed the Alps, while rejoicing in the war
that had broken out between the Romans and the Cartha-
ginians, his mind wavered as to the nation with which he
would prefer that victory should rest, and he saw that their
relative strength was yet doubtful. When a third battle had
been fought, and victory a third time was with the Cartha-
ginians, he inclined to the side of success, and sent envoys 10
Hannibal. Avoiding the ports of Brundisium and Tarentum,
because they were held by Roman guard-ships, they landed at
the temple of Juno Lacinia. Thence they made for Capua,
through Apulia, and fell into the midst of the Roman outposts.
They were taken to Marcus Valerius Laevinus, the praetor, who
had his camp in the neighbourhood of Nuceria. There the
head of the embassy, Xenophanes, boldly declared that he had 1
been sent by king Philip to contract friendship and alliance]
with the Roman people, and that he had communications tfl
make to the consuls and to the Senate and people of Rome
Amid the revolts of old allies, Valerius was overjoyed at a nev
alliance with so illustrious a prince, and treated these enemie^
with all the courtesy due to friends. He gave them an escor
and guides to show them the roads carefully and tell ther
what points and what passes were in the occupation of the
Romans or of enemies. Xenophanes passed through the
Roman posts into Campania, and thence by the nearest route"!
into Hannibal's camp. With him he concluded a treaty and|

SECOND rUXIC WAR. 173

an alliance on the following terms : — " King Philip, with as BOOK XXIII.

" large a fleet as possible " (it seemed that he was about to raise a treaty of

two hundred ships) " was to cross into Italy and ravage the ^J^tudtd

*' coasts ; he was to the best of his power to make war by land ietween thenu

" and sea. The war over, all Italy with Rome itself was to be

" the possession of the Carthaginians and Hannibal, and all

" the spoil was to fall to Hannibal. Italy being thoroughly

" conquered, they were to sail to Greece and make war on such

" kings as they pleased. The states on the mainland and the

" islands lying off Macedonia were to belong to Philip and

" his kingdom."

34. Such were the general terms of the treaty concluded

between the Carthaginian leader and the Macedonian envoys.

Gisgo, Bostar, and Mago, who had been sent with them as

envoys to obtain the security of the king's own promise, came

to the same place, the temple of Juno Lacinia, where a ship

was waiting concealed. They had started, and were out at sea,

when they were espied by the Roman fleet that guarded the

shores of Calabria. Valerius Flaccus having despatched some

light vessels to pursue and bring back the ship, the king's

agents at first attempted flight, but as soon as they perceived

that they were inferior in speed, they gave themselves up to the HnnnibaFs

Romans, and were taken before the admiral of the fleet. He t"e7ta{dl[rfUie

asked them who they were, whence they came, and whither they Romans.

\ 1 were going. Xenophanes, who hitherto had been very lucky,

I began at first to make up a false story, " how Philip had sent

I j" him to the Romans, and that he had found his way to Marcus

" Valerius, that being the only safe road. He had not been able

! j" to traverse Campania, as it was beset with the enemy's forces."

Before long, the Carthaginian dress and manner of Hannibal's

envoys made them suspected, and when they were questioned,

their speech betrayed them. Upon this, their companions were

taken aside and intimidated, and then a despatch from Hannibal

) Philip was also found, with the stipulations between the

Macedonian king and the Carthaginian general. When all this

vas quite clear, it was thought best to convey the prisoners and

heir company as soon as possible to the Senate or to the

■onsuls, wherever they might be. For this purpose five of the

' iftest vessels were picked out, and Lucius Valerius Antias

174

LIVY.

BOOK XXIII.

State of
Sardinia.

A ttempts of the

Campanians to

bring Cutna

under their

power.

was sent in command. He had instructions to divide the
envoys among all his ships, so as to have them in separate
custody, and to take care that there was no conversation or
communication of plans among them.

At this same time Cornelius Mammula, on leaving his pro-
vince of Sardinia, described at Rome the state of affairs in the
island. All were thinking, he said, of war and revolt ; Quintus
Mucius, his successor, had encountered on his arrival an un-
wholesome condition of the atmosphere and the springs, and
having fallen into an illness that was tedious rather than
dangerous, would long be unable to sustain the burden of a
war. The army, too, though strong enough to garrison a
peaceful province, was wholly unequal to the war which seemed
on the point of breaking out. It was accordingly decreed by
the Senate that Quintus Fulvius Flaccus should raise five thou-
sand infantry with four hundred cavalry, and arrange for the
transport of this legion to Sardinia at the earliest opportunity.
He was to send with full military powers any one whom he
thought fit to conduct operations till Mucius had recovered.
Titus Manlius Torquatus, who had been twice consul and
censor, and who in his consulship had subdued Corsica, was
despatched on this business. About the same time, a fleet
sent from Carthage to Sardinia under the command of Has-
drubal, surnamed Calvus, was shattered by a frightful storm
and driven on the Balearic Isles. The vessels were hauled
ashore, and considerable time was lost while they were being
repaired ; so severely damaged were their hulls, as well as
their rigging.

35. While the war in Italy after the battle of Cannae some-
what languished, as the strength of one side was broken and
the energies of the other was relaxed, the Campanians at
tempted by themselves to annex Cumae. First they sough
to lure the citizens into revolt from Rome. This not sue
ceeding, they devised a stratagem for reducing them. All th<
Campanians held a sacrifice at regular intervals at Hamae. The)
informed the people of Cumae- that the Campanian senat<
would attend the ceremony, and requested the presence of th<
Cuman senate for joint deliberation, in order that both com<
munities might have the same allies and the same foes. They

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 175

should have, they said, an armed force on the spot, to guard BOOK XXIII.
against any danger from Romans or Carthaginians. The
citizens of Cumse, though they suspected mischief, offered no
objection, thinking thus to veil a crafty plan of their own.
Meanwhile Tiberius Sempronius, the consul, after reviewing
his army at Sinuessa, it being there that it was bidden to
assemble on the day fixed, crossed the river Vulturnus, and
encamped near Liternum.* As there was nothing to do in the * Tor di Patria.
camp, he compelled his soldiers to sally forth repeatedly in
battle array, that the raw recruits, who formed the chief part
of the slave volunteers, might be trained to follow the standards
and to recognise their ranks in action. Amid all this, it was
the general's principal object, and he had instructed his lieu-
tenants and officers to the same effect, to have no taunts flung
at any one about his former condition, such as might sow strife
among the men. The veteran should allow himself to stand
on the same level with the recruit, the free man with the slave,
holding all sufficiently worthy and well born to whom the people
of Rome had intrusted their arms and standards. The same
fortune which had compelled this state of things, compelled
them to maintain its existence. Such were the directions of
the officers, and they were observed by the soldiers with as
much zeal as they were given. And before long the hearts of
all had grown together in a union so harmonious that it was
;ilmost wholly forgotten what a man's condition in life had
Ijccn before he became a soldier.

Gracchus, while thus engaged, was informed by envoys

from Cumae of the nature of the embassy sent a few days before

!)\ the Campanians, and of their own reply to it. A three days'

' tival began from that date, and not only the Campanian

ite were to be present, but also their camp and army. After

iciering the people of Cumae to carry all their property from

he country into the city, and to keep within their walls, Gracchus

liniself, on the day before the Campanians were to hold their

ustomary sacrifice, moved his camp to Cumae, from which

lams was distant about three miles. The Campanians had

heady flocked thither in great numbers, as had been arranged,

nd not far off, Marius Alfius, the Medixtuticus, that is, the first

aagistrate in Campania, was secretly encamped with fourteen

176 LIVY.

HOOK XXIII. thousand armed men, more intent on preparing the sacrifice
and the stratagem that was to be executed during the celebra-
tion than on fortifying his camp or any military work. For
three days the sacrifices went on at Hamae. The rites were
performed at night, but so as to be completed before midnight.
This was the moment of which Gracchus resolved to take ad-
vantage. He posted sentries at the gates, that no one might
be able to disclose his plans, compelled his soldiers to recruit
their strength and give themselves to repose up to the tenth
hour of the day, that they might be ready to assemble at night-
fall, and ordered the advance at the first watch. After marching
Gracchus in Still silcncc, he reached Hamae at midnight and burst at

^"byaVidiieiT every gate simultaneously into the Campanian camp, negligently
attack, and t/ien gruardcd, as was to be expected, during a vigil. Some he slew

retires to C unite, o ' r' j o o

as they lay stretched in slumber, others as they were returning
unarmed from the celebration of the sacred rites. In that
night's fray fell more than two thousand men, with the com-
mander himself, Marius Alfius. Thirty-four military standards
were taken.

36. Gracchus, after having possessed himself of the
enemy's camp at a loss of less than a hundred soldiers, quickly
withdrew to Cumae, as he feared danger from Hannibal, who

* Monte di ^yas encamped at Tifata* overlooking Capua. Nor was he
Maddaloni. .,,,,.. .,. a r ■,

misled by his forecast of the future. As soon as news of the

disaster reached Capua, Hannibal, who calculated on finding at

Hams an army chiefly composed of young soldiers and slaves,

flushed and insolent with success, plundering the vanquished

and carrying off spoil, hurried his men at quick march past

Capua, and gave orders that the Campanian fugitives whom h$

met were to be conducted under escort to Capua and tt

wounded conveyed in waggons. But he found at Hamae tl:

camp evacuated by the enemy, nothing but traces of the recer

defeat and the bodies of his allies all around him. Some ad

vised him to march at once on Cumas and attack the plac^j

Though this was what Hannibal very eagerly desired, so tha

having failed at Naples he might at least possess himself

one maritime town in Cumae, still, as his troops, marched ou^

as they had been in a hurry, had taken nothing but their arr

with them, he retired to his camp on Tifata. The following

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

177

day, at the importunate entreaties of the Campanians, he
returned with all appliances for the siege of Cumae. He
completely ravaged the country round it, and then established
his camp a mile from the city. Meanwhile Gracchus had halted,
more from shame at the thought of deserting in such a crisis
allies who were appealing to his good faith and that of the
Roman people than because he had much confidence in his
troops, while the other consul, Fabius, who had his camp at
Gales, did not dare to cross the river Vulturnus with his army.
At first he was giving his attention to a repetition of the auspices,
then to prodigies, which were reported in quick succession.
When he sought to expiate them, the augurs persisted in
replying that such omens were not easily averted.

37. While Fabius was detained by these causes, Gracchus

was being blockaded. He was now in fact threatened by siege-

jworks. A wooden tower had been advanced against the town,

land to confront it the Roman consul had raised another tower

somewhat loftier on the very walls. He used indeed the walls

which of themselves were sufficiently lofty, as a foundation,

mto which he drove strong piles. From this tower the garrison at

jfirst defended the city, and its fortifications with stones, stakes,

jind other missiles. At last, when they saw that the tower by

Dcing gradually advanced was close to the walls, they flung on

t with burning brands a huge mass of fire. Terror-stricken

jit the flames, the host of armed soldiers threw themselves

iieadlong from the tower, and at that moment there was a

imultaneous sally from two gates of the town, which routed

'iC enemy's outposts and drove them into the camp. Thus on

Kit day the Carthaginian was more in the plight of the be-

jieged than of the besieger. As many as thirteen hundred

'arthaginians were slain, and fifty-nine taken prisoners. They

ere caught unawares, as they were keeping guard carelessly

nd heedlessly near the walls and at their posts, and dreading

athing so little as a sally. Before the enemy could recover

om their sudden panic, Gracchus gave the signal of retreat,

\d withdrew his men within the walls.

Next day Hannibal, who thought that the consul elated by

success would fight a regular battle, drew up his troops

tween his camp and the city. Seeing however that not a

N

BOOK XXIII.

Hanni/tal

threatens

Cumce.

Gracchus

blockaded in

Cumct.

He makes a
successful sally.

Hannihal
abandons the
siege of Cutnce.

178

LIVY.

Saponara.

BOOK XXIII. man stirred from his usual post of defence, and that there was
no thought of trusting presumptuous hopes, he returned to
Tifata, baffled in his purpose. At the very same time at which
the siege of Cumae was raised, Tiberius Sempronius, surnamed
Longus, fought a successful engagement at Grumentum * in
Lucania with the Carthaginian general Hanno. He slew more
than two thousand of the enemy, with a loss of two hundred
and eighty soldiers, and he captured upwards of forty-one
standards. Driven out of Lucanian territory, Hanno retired
into Bruttium. Those towns, too, of the Hirpini which had
revolted from Rome were forcibly recovered by the prastor,
Marcus Valerius. Vercellius and Sicilius, the authors of the
revolt, were beheaded. More than a thousand prisoners were
sold by auction. The remainder of the booty was given up to
the soldiers, and the army marched back to Luceria.

38. During these operations in Lucania and in the country
of the Hirpini, the five ships which were conveying the captured
Macedonian and Carthaginian envoys to Rome, had sailed round
almost the whole coast of Italy from the Upper to the Lower
Sea. When they were passing Cumae, and it was not distinctly
known whether they belonged to the enemy or to allies, Gracchu?
sent vessels from his fleet to meet them. As soon as it hai
been ascertained by mutual inquiry that the consul was at
Cumas, the ships put into that place, the prisoners were taken
to the consul, and their papers were placed in his hands. Having
read the letters from Philip and from Hannibal, he sent them
all under seal to the Senate by land, directing the envoys to be
conveyed by ship. Almost on the same day both letters and
envoys reached Rome, and, when upon inquiry, what they said
was found to agree with the documents, the first feeling of the
Senate was serious alarm when they saw how formidable a wai
threatened them from Macedonia, barely equal as they were I
the burden of the war with Carthage. Yet so far were the
from succumbing, that they instantly debated how they migl
keep off the enemy from Italy by attacking him themselves. The
gave orders to put the prisoners in chains, and their attendant
they sold by auction, and then decided to get ready twent
vessels to be added to the twenty-five already under the com
mand of Publius Valerius Flaccus. The vessels were equipped

The envoys of
Philip and

Hannibal are

brotight to

Rome.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

179

and launched, the five which had conveyed the captive envoys BOOK xxill.
added to them, and thus a fleet of thirty ships sailed from Ostia
for Tarentum. Instructions were given to Pubhus Valerius to
put on shipboard Varro's troops, which were commanded by
Lucius Apustius, the governor of Tarentum, and, besides guard-
ing with a fleet of fifty vessels the shores of Italy, to ascertain
something about the war with Macedon. Should Philip's
designs correspond with the letters and the disclosures of the
envoys, Marcus Valerius, the praetor, was to be informed by a
despatch. ' He was then, after putting his army under the
command of his lieutenant, Lucius Apustius, to go to the fleet
at Tarentum, cross on the very first opportunity into Macedonia,
and use every effort to confine Philip within his kingdom. For
the maintenance of the fleet, and for the war with Macedon,
the same money was voted which had been sent to Appius
Claudius in Sicily to be paid to King Hiero. The money was
conveyed to Tarentum through the hands of Lucius Apustius.
Hiero at the same time sent two hundred thousand pecks of
1 wheat and a hundred thousand of barley..

39. While the Romans were thus planning and acting, a

{captured vessel, one of those which had been sent to Rome,

jescaped back to Philip. It thus became known to him that

ihis envoys and their despatches had been captured. As he

iknew nothing of the compact which they had arranged with

iHannibal or of the message which Hannibal's envoys would

have brought him, he sent a second embassy with the same in-

ti actions. The envoys he sent to Hannibal were Heracleitus,

iuinamed Scotinus, Crito of Bceotia, and Sositheus Magnes.

riiey were successful in taking and in bringing back their

ncssage, but summer passed away before the king could move

ir attempt anything. Such was the effect of the capture of a

ingle vessel with the envoys in delaying the war now hanging

ver the Romans.

In the neighbourhood of Capua where Fabius had crossed
le Vulturnus, having at last completed his expiation of the
iirtents, both the consuls were carrying on operations. Com-
alteria,Trebula,* and Austicula, towns which had revolted to the
arlhaginian, were stormed by Fabius, and Hannibal's garrisons
them with a great number of Campanians were made prisoners.

N 2

Philip sends a.
second etnbassy
to Hannibal.

Success/ul

operations of

Fabius.

^ Treglia.

i8o LIVY.

BOOK xxill. At Nola, just as in the previous year, the Senate was on the
side of the Romans, the commons on that of Hannibal, and
secret plots were being hatched to destroy the principal citizens
and to betray the town. To hinder the success of these attempts,
Fabius marched his army to a position between Capua and
Hannibal's camp on Tifata, and established himself on Vesuvius
in the camp of Claudius. Thence he despatched the pro-consul,
Marcus Marcellus, with the force under his command, to
garrison Nola.

40. In Sardinia, too, active operations, which had been
dropped when Quintus Mucius, the prsetor, was attacked by
serious illness, were commenced by Titus Manlius. Manlius
hauled his war-ships ashore at Carales, and after arming the
crews with the view of carrying on hostilities by land, and
receiving command of the praetor's troops, made up his army
to twenty thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry. With this
force he invaded the enemy's territory, and encamped at no great
distance from the camp of Hampsicora. It happened that
Hampsicora had then marched into the country of the Pelliti-
Sardi to arm their youth and so increase his army. His son,
Hostus by name, commanded at the camp. With a. young man's
confidence he rashly risked an engagement, in which he was
Roman victory beaten and put to the rout, upwards of three thousand of the

in Sardinia, g^^j-^^j being slain in the battle and as many as eight hundred
made prisoners. The rest of the army, after wandering in their
flight over fields and forests, took refuge at a town name
Cornus, the capital of the district, whither, so rumour sai
their leader had escaped. This battle would have ended th
war in Sardinia, had not the Carthaginian fleet, which hai
been driven by a storm on the Baliaric isles, arrived under thi
command of Hasdrubal at the critical moment to awaken hopei
of renewing the struggle.

Manlius on hearing the report of the arrival of the Cartha
ginian fleet, retired to Carales, and thus an opportunity wa;
given to Hampsicora of joining the Carthaginians. Hasdrubal^
having landed his troops and sent the fleet back to Carthage,
started with Hampsicora for his guide to plunder the territories
of Rome's allies, and he would have reached Carales had not
Manlius met him with his army and checked his widely extended

SECOND PUNIC WAR. i8i

ravages. At first camp confronted camp with but a small space BOOK xxili.
between them, and soon there were sorties and some trifling
skirmishes with varying results. At last they went into action
and fought a regular engagement at close quarters for four hours.
Long did the Carthaginians maintain a doubtful conflict, while
the Sardi were, as usual, easily beaten ; but ultimately they them-
selves, too, seeing the general slaughter and flight of the Sardi
around them, were routed. But the moment they turned their
backs, the- Roman wing, which had defeated the Sardi, wheeled
round and hemmed them in. It then became a massacre more
than a fight. Twelve thousand of the enemy were slain, of
Sardi and of Carthaginians ; about three thousand seven hundred
were taken prisoners, with twenty- seven military standards.

41. The battle was rendered specially famous and memor-
able by the capture of Hasdrubal, the general, and of Hanno
and Mago, Carthaginian nobles. Mago was of the Barcine
family and was nearly related to Hannibal ; Hanno had headed the
rebellion of the Sardi and was unquestionably the author of the
war. The fall, too, of the leaders of the Sardi contributed equally
to make this a glorious victory. Hampsicora's son Hostus was
slain on the field, and Hampsicora, who fled with a few troopers,
I on hearing of his son's death in addition to the ruin of his
fortunes slew himself in the night, when no one could interfere
to hinder his purpose. The rest found refuge as before in
the town of Cornus. Manlius attacked it with his victorious
'.army and re-took it in a few days. Then other states which
ihad revolted to Hampsicora and the Carthaginians, gave host-
tages and surrendered. Having required them to furnish tribute
'and corn according to their respective abilities or past miscon-
duct, Manhus marched his army back to Carales. There he
launched his ships of war, and having put on board the troops
!lie had brought with him, he sailed to Rome and announced to Rcconquest of

he Senate the thorough conquest of Sardinia. The tribute he Sardinia.

landed over to the quaestors, the corn to the a^diles, and the

jfisoners to the praetor Fulvius.

About the same time the prsetor Titus Otacihus crossed

rom Libybaeum to Africa with a fleet of fifty ships. After
.aging the Carthaginian territory he set sail for Sardinia,
ither Hasdrubal, as report said, had crossed from the Baliaric

i82 LIVY,

BOOK XXIII. isles, and fell in with his fleet as it was on its return to Africa, A
trifling engagement was fought in the open sea, and Otacilius
captured seven ships with their crews. As for the rest, panic
dispersed them as effectually as a storm would have done. It
happened, too, that about the same time Bomilcar arrived at
Locri with some troops sent as reinforcements from Carthage,
as well as some elephants and supplies, Appius Claudius, with
the view of falling on him unawares, rapidly marched his army
to Messana under the pretext of making a circuit of the pro-
vince, and crossed to Locri with a favourable tide. By this
time Bomilcar had left to join Hanno in Bruttium, and the
Locrians closed their gates against the Romans. Appius after
making a great effort without any result returned to Messana.

Marcellusat That same summer, Marcellus, who was holding Nola with a

" '*■ garrison, made thence frequent incursions into the territories of

the Harpini and of the Samnites in Caudium. So utterly did he

waste the whole country with fire and sword as to revive

throughout Samnium the memory of ancient disasters.

Envoys from 42, Envoys were therefore instantly despatched by the two

'^Samnites^to pcoples simultaneously to Hannibal. These addressed the
Hannibal. Carthaginians as follows : — " In early days, Hannibal, we stood
" alone by our own choice as enemies of Rome, as long as our
" arms and our strength could defend us. When we lost con-
" fidence in them, we allied ourselves with King Pyrrhus. He
" abandoned us, and then we submitted to an inevitable peace,
" in which we lived for nearly fifty years, till the time when you
" entered Italy, You so endeared yourself to us, not so much
" by your valour and success, as by your marked courtesy and
" kindness towards our citizens whom you captured and restored
" to us, that, while you, our friend, were safe and prosperous,
" we feared, if I may say it without offence, not even the wrath
They " of heavcn, far less the Roman people. But now, while you

remonstrate ,, ,.,.., ,,

■with him for are not only safe and victorious, but actually present among us,
^unprotecud. " ^° *^^^ y°" might almost hear the wailings of our wives and
" children, and behold our burning houses, we have suffered, we
" protest, such repeated devastations this summer that it would
" seem that Marcellus and not Hannibal was the victor at
" Cannae, while the Romans boast that you have strength only
" for a single blow and are then paralysed, as if you had lost

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 183

" your sting. For almost a hundred years we waged war with book xxiii.
" Rome, without the aid of any foreign general or army, unless I
" except those two years with Pyrrhus, though he did not so much
" defend us with his own strength as reinforce that strength out
" of our own soldiery. I will not boast of our successes, how
" we passed under the yoke two consuls and two consular armies,
" or of other fortunate and glorious incidents in our history.
" The sufferings and reverses of those days we can speak of with
" less indignation than those which are now befalling us. Great
" dictators with masters of the horse, two consuls, each with a
" consular army, would then invade our territories ; first dulyre-
" connoitring, and posting their reserves, they marched in regular
*' array to ravage the country. But now we are the prey of one pro-
" praetor and of a single garrison, small even for the defence of
" Nola. It is not in military detachments but in mere brigand
" fashion that they scour our lands, more heedlessly than if they
" were roving over Roman ground. And the cause is this. You
" do not defend us yourself, and all our youth who, were they at
" home, would protect us, are serving under your standards, I
" should not notice you or your army did I not suppose that that
" which I know has routed and overthrown so many Roman
'* hosts, must find it easy to crush these roving plunderers of our
country, who have straggled away from their standards wher-
ever any prospect, however idle, of booty lures this or that
man. They surely will be the prey of a handful of Numidians,
' and you will have sent defence to us and have taken it from
' Nola, if only you count those whom you thought worthy to
' have as allies, not unworthy of the protection which you
* promised them as such."

43. Hannibal's reply was this : " The Hirpini and Sam- Hannibal's

,' nites," so he said, " did everything at once. They told their ''^^^■^'

\' calamities, asked help, and complained of being unprotected

f and deserted. They ought first to have told the facts, then to

j have asked aid ; and last of all if they failed to get it, to have

complained that they had implored assistance in vain. He

would not march his army into the territory of the Hirpini

and Samnites, lest he too might be a burden on them, but into

the country of the allies of Rome that lay close at hand. By

laying this waste he would both enrich his army and also rid

i84 LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. " them of the presence of the enemy by terror. As for the
" war with Rome, if Trasumennus was a more famous battle
" than Trebia, and Cannse than Trasumennus, he would soon
" edipse the memory even of Cannas by a greater and more
" glorious victory.' '
He marches With this answer and some splendid presents Hannibal dis-

' missed the envoys. Leaving a small force at Tifata he himself
began to advance with the rest of his army on Nola. Thither
also came Hanno from Bruttium with the reinforcements and
elephants from Carthage. Having encamped at no great dis-
tance, Hannibal found on inquiry that matters were very different
from what he had been told by the envoys of his allies. None
in fact of the operations of Marcellus were such that it could be
said that he had rashly put himself in the power of fortune or of
the enemy. It had been after careful reconnoitring in strong
detachments, and with his retreat secured, that he had gone out
to plunder. Every care and precaution had been taken, just as
if he were fighting against Hannibal in person. When he dis-
covered that the enemy was approaching, he kept his troops
within the walls, and ordered the senators of Nola to walk tip
and down the ramparts and observe all the enemy's proceedings
in the neighbourhood. Two of these, Herennius Bassus and
Herius Pettius, Hanno, who had gone close to the walls, invited
to a conference, and when with the permission of Marcellus
they had left the city, he spoke to them through an interpreter.
He extolled the valour and success of Hannibal, while he
depreciated the waning greatness and strength. of the Roman
and sounds the peoplc. "Were these," he said, "what they had once been,
temper of the " s^i^ those who knew by experience how oppressive Rome's
" empire was to her allies and what indulgence Hannibal had
" shown even towards all his prisoners of Italian race, must
" prefer the Carthaginian alliance and friendship to the Roman.
"If both consuls were with their armies at Nola, they would
" after all be no more a match for Hannibal than they had been
" at Cannse. Much less could a single praetor with a few new
" soldiers defend Nola. Whether Hannibal should possess
" himself of the place by capture or by surrender, concerned
" them more than Hannibal. For, indeed, he would possess
" himself of it, as he had of Capua and Nuceria. But what a

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 185

'"■ difference there was between the lot of Capua and that of book xxili.

" Nuceria, the citizens of Nola themselves knew, situated as

" they were, almost half-way between those towns. He had no

" wish to forecast what would befall the city if taken ; he

" preferred to pledge his word that, if they surrendered

" Marcellus and his garrison and Nola, no one but themselves

" would decide the terms on which they would enter into

" alliance and friendship with Hannibal."

44. To this Herennius Bassus replied : " There has been
" a friendship of many years between the people of Rome and
" of Nola, of which hitherto neither has repented. Had we
" thought that we should change our allegiance when fortune
" changed, it is now too late so to change it. Had we meant
" surrender, we should not have summoned Roman aid. As it
" is, there is a perfect bond of union between us and those who
" have come to protect us, which will continue to the end."

This conference took from Hannibal all hopes of recovering Hannibal
Nola by surrender. He therefore completely invested the town '"^'^ses NoU.
with a view of a simultaneous attack on its walls from every part.
As soon as Marcellus saw that he was close to the ramparts he
drew up his troops within one of the gates and burst out with great
fury. Not a few were overthrown and slain by this first onset ; soon Action at Nola
there was a general rush to join the combatants, whose strength '^^^''^rLdt"'^'"'
being equalised, a terrible fight began, which would have been
Imemorable as few battles have been, had not a violent down-
pour of rain with tremendous storms put an end to the conflict.
That day, after a partial engagement, they retired in fierce ex-
:ite;nent, the Romans to the town, the Carthaginians to their
: unp. Of the latter, however, there fell in the panic of the
irst attack not more than thirty, of the Romans, not a man. The
nin continued without ceasing throughout the whole night till
lie third hour of the following day. And so both sides, though
iser for battle, kept themselves that day within their intrench-
aents. Three days afterwards Hannibal sent part of his army
" I plundering expedition into the country round Nola. Mar-
is, perceiving this, at once led his troops to battle, and
lannibal did not refuse the challenge. There was about a
lile between the city and the camp, and within that space (it is
I'l level ground round Nola) the armies met. A shout rose

i86 LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. from each, and summoned back to the battle now begun the
nearest soldiers from the cohorts which had gone out into the
fields for plunder. And the citizens of Nola swelled the Roman
ranks, and they were warmly praised by Marcellus, who ordered
them to stand with the reserves and carry the wounded off the
field, but keep out of action, unless he gave them the signal to
engage.

45. The battle was undecided, the generals cheering on
their men, fighting to the utmost of their strength. Marcellus
bade them press hard an enemy who had been beaten three days
previously, had been driven in flight a few days ago from Cuma;,
and under his own leadership, though by other troops, had been
repulsed last year from Nola. " His whole army," he said,
" was not on the field ; some were roving for plunder throughout
" the country. Even those who were engaged, were enervated by
" the luxury of Campania, by wine and women, and had worn
" themselves out by every debauchery during a whole winter.
" Their old strength and vigour were gone ; the endurance of
" the frames and hearts which had surmounted the heights of the
" Pyrenees and of the Alps, had melted away. The present
" combatants were but the remnant of those brave men and
" could scarce bear the burden of their arms or limbs. Capua
" had been Hannibal's Cannae ; there had perished warlike
" valour, military disciphne, all glory of the past, all hope for
" the future.-"

While Marcellus was rousing the courage of his soldiers by
these taunts against the enemy, Hannibal was upbraiding his
men with much harsher reproaches. " I recognise," he said,
" the same arms and standards which I saw and with which I
" fought at Trebia, Trasumennus, and last of all, at Cannae. But
*' I protest that I marched into winter-quarters at Capua with one
" army and marched out of it with another. Are you, whose
" attack two consular armies never once sustained, barely a
" match for a Roman lieutenant and the onset of a single legioi
" and one division of allies ? Is Marcellus with his raw recruits,
" and his reserves of Nolan townsfolk now again challenging!
" us with impunity ? Where is that soldier of mine who
" dragged the consul Flaminius from his horse and struck off his
" head ? Where is the man who cut down Lucius Paullus a;

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

187

Hannibal

repulsed be/ore

Nola.

"Cannae? Are their swords now blunt ; are their right hands BOOK xxiii

" paralysed ? Or what other miracle explains it ? Once few in

" number, you used to vanquish a superior host ; now yourselves

" superior you barely resist a few. Brave in tongue, you boasted

" that you would storm Rome, were you to be led thither. See

" before you a less formidable enterprise. Here I wish to test

" your strength and valour. Storm Nola, a city in a plain, with-

" out defence of river or sea. When you have laden yourselves

*' with the booty and the spoils of so rich a town, I will either

" lead you or follow you \vhither you please."

46. Neither words of encouragement nor reproach availed
to put resolution into their hearts. At every point they were
driven back, while the courage of the Romans rose, cheered on
as they were, not only by their general but by the people of Nola,
who with shouts, which testified to their good-will, roused yet
more the enthusiasm of battle. The Carthaginians turned and
were driven into their camp, but though the Roman soldiers
were eager to storm it, Marcellus led them back to Nola amid
^reat joy, and congratulations even from the populace, which
(had previously inclined towards Carthage. More than five
housand of the enemy were slain that day, six hundred taken
dive with nineteen military standards and two elephants. Of
he Romans less than a thousand fell. The next day was spent
n an armistice by tacit consent, both sides burying their slain in
he battle. The spoils taken from the enemy Marcellus burnt
'.s a vow to Vulcan.

Two days afterwards, prompted, I imagine, by some resent-
aent, or by the hope of a more liberally rewarded warfare,
ivo hundred and seventy-two troopers, Numidians and
paniards intermixed, deserted to Marcellus. Of their brave
'nd faithful services the Romans often availed themselves
Juring this war. When it was over, the Spaniards had lands
jiven them in Spain, the Numidians in Africa, in recompense
f their valour.

I Hannibal sent back Hanno from Nola to Bruttium with the

frees which he had brought with him, and went himself into

inter-quarters in Apulia, encamping near Arpi. Quintus

ibiu5, on hearing that he had marched into Apulia, col-

! grain from Nola and Naples and stored it in the

i88 LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. camp on Suessula. Having then strengthened his lines and
Fabms lays left a force sufficient to defend his position throughout the
Campania, winter, he moved his camp nearer Capua, and wasted the
territory of the Campanians with fire and sword. At last the
Campanians, though they had absolutely no confidence in their
strength, were compelled to sally out from the city-gates and
establish a camp upon ground in front of their town. They had
in all six thousand soldiers, the infantry utterly inefficient, but
the horse of good quality. Accordingly they kept harassing
the enemy by cavalry skirmishes. Among their many
distinguished troopers was one, Cerrinus Vibellius, surnamed
Taurea. He was too a citizen of Capua, and he was far the
bravest horse-soldier in all Campania. Indeed, when he served
with the Romans, there was but one Roman, Claudius Asellus
who rivalled him in renown as a trooper. Taurea rode up to
the enemy's squadrons and took a long survey of them. When
at length there was a hush, he asked : " Where is Claudius
" Asellus ? He used to dispute with me in words the palm of
" valour ; why should he not decide the matter by the sword,
" yielding up the prize of victory if he is beaten, and taking it
" if he is victorious ? "

47. This message having been delivered to Asellus in the
camp, he merely waited awhile to ask the consuls whether he
was at liberty, contrary to regulations, to fight an enemy who
challenged him. On obtaining leave, he at once armed himself,
rode out in front of the sentries and called Taurea by name
bidding him to an encounter wherever he pleased. By this
time the Romans had poured out in multitudes, to witness the
combat, and the Campanians too were crowding the entrench-
ments of their camp and even their city-walls, to look on at a
Duel between a distance. The Combatants, who had already given notoriety
c^panian to the affair by their speeches of defiance, now galloped their
trooper. ijo^ges at full speed, with spears in rest. There was abundance
of room, and they amused themselves by spinning out a bloodless
duel. At last the Campanian said to the Roman, " This will be
" a contest between horses, not between horsemen, unless we
" gallop our steeds down from the open into this hollow lane,
" where, as there is no space for manoeuvrmg, we may fight a'
•' close quarters." Almost before he had said the word Claudiu

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 189

had plunged with his horse into the lane. Taurea, bolder in book xxiii.
speech than in deed, retorted on him, " I would not be an ass
in a ditch." The saying subsequently passed into a rustic
proverb. Claudius rode along the lane to a great distance, and
meeting no enemy returned to the open ground. He then went
back victorious to his camp amid great rejoicing and congratu-
lation, denouncing the cowardice of his foe. To this fight of
the two cavalry soldiers is added in some chronicles an incident
certainly extraordinary, the truth of which it is for common
sense to detide. Claudius, it is said, who followed up Taurea in
his flight to the town, rushed in at one of the enemy's gates
which was open, and rode out unhurt by another amid the
helpless wonderment of the foe.

48. The camp was now quiet, and the consul even shifted his
position some way back, that the Campanians might begin their
[sowing. Nor did he do any injury to their lands until the corn
jwas high enough in blade to yield fodder. Then he carried it
Ito Claudius's camp on Suessula, and there established his Fabius in winter
{winter quarters. He ordered Marcellus, the pro-consul, to ^s'uesluia.
Iretain a sufficient force at Nola for the defence of the place,
ind sent away the rest of his troops to Rome, that they might
lot be a burden to the allies and an expense to the State. And
jracchus, having marched his legions from Cumse to Luceria in
{\pulia, despatched the praetor, Marcus Valerius, with the army Gracchus at
lie had had at Luceria, to Brundisium, with instructions to guard guard the coast.
Ihe shores of the Sallentine territory and take precautions in
egard to Philip and the war with Macedon.

At the end of the summer in which occurred the operations Tidings from

e have described, came despatches from Publius and Cneius

cipio, telling what great successes they had achieved in Spain, Despatch from

ut also stating that money was wanting for the soldiers' pay,

nd clothing and corn for the troops, and that the seamen were

uite destitute. As for the pay, if the treasury were empty, they

•uld themselves devise some plan of getting it from the

paniards, but they must certainly raise all the other supplies

om Rome, that being the only possible way of retaining either

e troops or the province. When the despatch had been read,

cry one admitted the truth of the statements and the justice

the request ; still the thought presented itself of the vast

igo LIVY.

BOOK XXIII. forces which they would have to maintain by sea and land and

of the immense new fleet soon to be equipped, should war break

Financial out with Macedon. Sicily and Sardinia, which had paid tribute

oj the Romans, before the war, could hardly support the armies which gua.)rded
these provinces, and the expenses were furnished out of a
citizens' tax. Not only had the number of the contributors
of this tax been materially diminished by those murderous
defeats of our armies at Trasumennus and Cannae, but even the
few survivors, were they to be burdened with an increased pay-
ment, would perish by another destruction. Consequently unless
the State could be upheld by credit, it would not be upheld by
its resources. The praetor Fulvius, it was said, must show him-
self in an assembly of the people and point out to them the
public necessities, and invite those who had improved their
properties by taking contracts to lend money for a time to the
State, from which they had enriched themselves, and arrange
to furnish the army in Spain with all that it needed, on the
condition that, as soon as there was money in the treasury, they
should first be paid. Such was the prtetor's proclamation to the
people, and he named a day on which he would issue contracts
for the supply of clothing and corn to the army in Spain and of
whatever else was necessary for the seamen.
PzMic spirit "49. As soon as the day arrived, three companies, each of

of tie citizens, nineteen members, came forward to take the contracts. They
made two demands. One was exemption from military service
j while they were engaged on this public business ; another was,

that, for whatever they put on shipboard they were to be insured
at the risks of the State against storms or attacks of the enemy
Both demands being granted, they took the contracts, and the
administration of the State was carried on with private money;
Such principles and such patriotism pervaded every class, almosi
without exception.

As all the contracts were taken with hearty good-will, sc
they were performed with the most scrupulous fidelity, and the
armies supplied just as they would have been from the over-<i
flowing exchequer of former days» When the supplies arrived,i
the town of Iliturgi was being besieged by Hasdrubal, Mago, and!
Hamilcar, son of Bomilcar, because it had revolted to Rome.
Between these three hostile camps the Scipios made their way

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 191

into the city of our allies after hard fighting and great slaughter book xxili.
3f the opposing army, and brought with them corn of which luturgia, in
Lhere was an extreme scarcity. Then after encouraging the ^^"'^I'y^the^^
townsfolk to defend their walls with the same spirit with which Carthagimans,

^ who are defeated

they had seen the Roman army fight on their behalf, they and compelled to

fd-isc the

marched off to attack the principal camp which was under the siege.

command of Hasdrubal, The two other Carthaginian generals
and their armies hastened to the spot, seeing it was to be the
scene of the decisive struggle. There was a sally out of the
camp, followed by a battle, and that day sixty thousand of the
enemy and sixteen thousand Romans were engaged. So far,
however, was the victory from being doubtful that the Romans
slew of the enemy a number exceeding their own, taking more
than three thousand prisoners, a little under a thousand horses
with fifty-nine standards, and killing five elephants in the battle.
jOn that day they captured three camps. The siege of Iliturgi
Ihaving thus been raised, the Carthaginian armies were marched
away to attack Intibili, their losses having been made up out of
the province, one indeed which above all others was fond of
lighting, if only plunder or pay were to be got, and in which
i/oung men abounded. Again a pitched battle was fought, the
jiame fortune attending both sides. More than thirteen thousand
|)f the enemy fell and more than two thousand were taken pri-
soners, with forty-two standards and nine elephants. And now
Indeed all the Spanish tribes revolted to Rome, and far greater
'esults were achieved that year in Spain than in Italy.

BOOK XXIV.

B.C. 215-213.

BOOK XXIV

Carthaginian

operations in

Biuitium.

I. On his return from Campania to Bruttium, Hanno, with
Bruttian help and guidance, sought to seize the Greek towns.
These remained loyal to the Roman alliance all the more
willingly because they saw that the Bruttians, whom they both
hated and feared, were now on the side of the Carthaginians.
Rhegium was first attempted, and several days were spent
there without result. Meanwhile the people of Loeri were
hurriedly cariying from their fields into the city their corn,
wood, and other necessaries, anxious at the same time that not
a scrap of plunder might be left for the enemy. Every day a
larger crowd poured out of the city-gates, till at last there were
left in the town only those who were pressed into the service of
repairing the walls and gates and carrying weapons to the
ramparts. Against this promiscuous multitude of all ages and
ranks, as it straggled, mostly unarmed, over the fields, the
Carthaginian, Hamilcar, sent out his cavalry, with orders to
hurt nobody, but simply to scatter them in flight and then inter-
cept them with his troopers, so as to cut them off from the
city. The general himself, taking up a position on high ground
from which he could see the neighbouring cavalry as well as the
town, directed a Bruttian cohort to advance up to the walls,
summon the principal Locrian citizens to a conference, and,
should they promise friendship, to Hannibal, they were to
encourage them to surrender the city. As for the Bruttians in
this conference, the Locrians believed at first nothing that they^
said, but when the Carthaginians showed themselves on th«

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 193

hills, and a few fugitives brought the news that all the rest of the book xxiv.
population was at the enemy's mercy, they were overwhelmed
with terror, and replied that they would consult the popular assem-
bly. Instantly a meeting was summoned. All the meaner sort
were for a new government and a new alliance, and those whose
kinsfolk had been intercepted by the enemy outside the walls
felt themselves as much pledged as if they had given hostages.
A few, indeed, in their hearts approved a steadfast loyalty, but
they had not the courage to maintain it. And so, with an ap-
parently unhesitating assent, surrender was made to the Cartha- Surrender of
ginians. Lucius Atilius, commander of the garrison, and the CarUialinians.
Roman soldiers under him, were secretly taken down to the port
and put on shipboard to be conveyed to Rhegium, and then they
admitted Hamilcar and the Carthaginians into the town, on
condition that a treaty was to be at once concluded on equitable
terms. Faith in the matter was all but broken with the party
tmaking the surrender, as the Carthaginians complained that
they had treacherously let the Romans depart, while the
iLocrians pleaded that they had themselves escaped. Some
pavalry went in pursuit, in case the tide in the straits might
possibly delay the vessels or carry them back to land. Those
indeed whom they pursued, they failed to overtake, but they saw
lOme other ships crossing the straits from Messana to Rhegium.
these carried Roman soldiers whom Claudius, the praetor, had
despatched to garrison the city. So the Carthaginians at once
pithdrew from Rhegium. By Hannibal's orders peace was
[ranted to the Locrians. They were to live independent, under
jieir own laws ; their city was to be open to the Carthaginians,
t its port was to be under Locrian control ; there was to be
alliance with the understanding that Carthaginians and
ocrians were to help each other both in peace and war.

2. Thus the Carthaginians returned from the straits, amid

\C[ry complaints from the Bruttians at their having left Rhegium

k! Locri unmolested. The plunder of these cities the Bruttians

h1 fully counted on for themselves. So on their own account The BnittioMs

levied and equipped fifteen thousand of their own youth """'^'^ Cn>ton

inarched to attack Croton, also a Greek city on the coast.

V would secure, they thought, a vast accession to their

sources by possessing themselves of a town on the sea, with a

o

194 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. harbour ?nd strong fortifications. But, as they could not quite
venture to summon the Carthaginians to their aid, they were
ha^^ssed by the apprehension that they might seem to be
attempting something not for the benefit of their aUies. And
again, should the Carthaginian any more be the negotiator oi
a peace rather than their helper in war, an attack on the inde-
pendence of Croton would, they feared, be as useless as had
^ previously been the attack on Locri. Hence they thought it best

to send envoys to Hannibal and obtain from him a guarantee
that Croton, when reconquered, should belong to the Bruttians.

Hannibal replied that the question was one for those on the
spot, and he referred them to Hanno. From Hanno no definite
answer was received. It was not indeed the wish of the Car-
thaginians to see a famous and wealthy city plundered, and they
hoped that, when the Bruttians attacked it, as it was evident
that they neither approved nor aided the attack, its citizens
would revolt to them the sooner.

Among the people of Croton there was no unity of policy or
of feeling. One and the same disease, so to say, had fastened on
all the Italian states, strife between the commons and the aristo-
cracy, the senate favouring Rome, while the commons were for
throwing themselves into the hands of the Carthaginians. Of this
dissension in the city the Bruttians were informed by a deserter.
One, Aristomachus, he said, was the popular leader and advised!
surrender. In so vast a city, with wide and scattered fortifications,]
the sentries and guards of the senators were but few, and wherevei'
men of the popular party were on duty, there was free entrance
Under the advice and leading of the deserter, the Bruttians regu-
larly invested the town. At the first assault, they were admittef
They take the by the commons, and secured every part except the citadel. Thi-
" "* 'citadel. ' was held by the aristocracy, who had already prepared it as
place of refuge against such a contingency. Thither also Aristo
machus fled, representing that he had advised the surrender 0
the town to the Carthaginians and not to the Bruttians.
Description of 3- Before Pyrrhus's invasion of Italy the city of Crete
Croton. jj^^ ^ ^g^jl Qf twelve miles circuit. After the desolation cause
by that war barely half the space was inhabited. The rivd
whose waters had flowed through the middle of the town, noi
flowed outside the district occupied by houses, and the citad<

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 195

was at a distance from the inhabited part. Six miles from the book xxiv.
city was a famous temple, more famous indeed than the city
itself, dedicated to Juno Lacinia and reverenced by all the
neighbouring peoples. There, in the middle of a grove,
densely grown and closed in by stately fir-trees, were rich
pastures, where cattle of all kinds, sacred to the goddess, fed
without a shepherd. The various flocks went forth separately
and returned at night to their stalls, never harmed by the
stealthy attacks of wild beasts or the craft of man. Hence
great profits were derived from the cattle, and out of them was
made and dedicated a pillar of solid gold. The temple too
became renowned for its wealth as well as for its sanctity.
Miracles are commonly attributed to such famous spots. There
is a story of an altar at the porch of the temple, the ashes of
which are never disturbed by any breeze.

I The citadel of Croton, which on one side overhung the sea,
|while on the other it faced landwards, was in old days protected
jmerely by its natural situation, but subsequently it was likewise
jsurrounded by a wall at the part where, from the rocks behind,
jDionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, had once taken it by stratagem.
This fortress, safe enough, as was thought, was now held by the
protoniat aristocracy, whom their own people along with the
pruttians were beleaguring. At last the Bruttians, seeing that it
ivas impregnable to their attacks, out of sheer necessity implored
jhe aid of Hanno. He endeavoured to force the Crotoniats to
ji surrender, stipulating that they would allow the admission of a
Sruttian colony, and so recover its ancient populousness for a
ity which wars had wasted and desolated. But on not one of
pe citizens, except Aristomachus, had he any effect. They
[eclared they would perish sooner than be confounded with
bruttians and have to accept strange ceremonies, customs and
|iws, and ultimately even a strange language. Aristomachus
jimself alone deserted to Hanno, finding that his arguments
puld not induce his companions to surrender, and that he
fjuld not get a chance of betraying the citadel, as he had be-
layed the town. Soon afterwards some Locrian envoys, having
ith Hanno's permission entered the citadel, urged the occupants
let themselves be transferred to Locri instead of resolving to
CO the last extremity. They had previously obtained leave to

O 2

196 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. make the offer from Hannibal, to whom they had despatched an
rJie inhabitants cmbassy. Thus Croton was abandoned, and the inhabitants
°-^ ^aflVri!^^ were marched down to the sea and put on shipboard. The
entire population took their departure to Locri.

In Apulia even the winter did not pass quietly between the
Romans and Hannibal. The consul Sempronius wintered at
Luceria, Hannibal not far from Arpi. Some slight skirmishes
occurred between them, as occasion offered, or as this or that side
saw an opportunity. In these the Romans improved daily,
becoming more cautious and less in danger from stratagem.
Hieronymus 4. In Sicily Hicro's death had made a complete change for

snccM ^_^^^iero ^^ Romans. The throne had passed to Hieronymus his grand-
son, a boy little likely to bear liberty much less absolute power,
with moderation. Eagerly did guardians and friends lay hold of
such a temper,' to hurry it into every excess. Hiero, it is said, fore-
seeing that this would be so in the future, wished in his extreme
old age to leave Syracuse free, and not to let a kingdom,
which had been won and consolidated by merit, be ruined by
the ridiculous follies of a youthful despot. But his purpose met
with the most determined resistance from his daughters, who
thought that while the boy would have the name of king, the
control of everything would rest with themselves and their
husbands, Andranodorus and Zoippus, whom Hiero intended to
leave his principal guardians. It was not easy for a man in his
ninetieth year, who was plied day and night by women's
flatteries, to exercise his mind freely and make private matters
subordinate to public considerations. And so he left the boy
fifteen guardians, and implored them on his death-bed to main-
tain inviolate that loyalty which for fifty years he had himself!
observed towards the people of Rome, and to resolve that the
lad should, above all things, tread in his footsteps and follow the
ways in which he had been trained.

Such were Hiero's instructions. As soon as he had breathed
his last, his will was produced by the guardians, and the boy,
then about fifteen years, was set before a public assembly, wher^,
a few, placed here and there to lead cheers of applause, ex^
pressed approval of the document, while the rest, as if the
had lost a father and their country was orphaned, saw terra
everywhere. Meantime the kingfs funeral was celebrate

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

197

Character of
Hieronymus.

with more love and affection on the part of the citizens than book xxiv.
regard from his own kin. Then the other guardians were put
aside by Andranodorus, who kept repeating that Hieronymus
was now a young man and capable of reigning. By himself
abdicating the guardianship which he shared with several others,
he concentrated in his own person the influence of all.

5. Even a good and self-controlled prince would not have
easily found favour with the Syracusans, had he come after the
extreme popularity of Hiero. As a fact, however, Hieronymus
apparently wished to deepen their regret for his grandfather by
his own vices, and at his very first appearance let them, see how
different everything was. Those who for so many years had
never seen Hiero and his son Gelon distinguished by dress or
any other outward badge from the other citizens, now beheld
a purple robe, a diadem and an armed bodyguard, and even
occasionally saw the king issue from his palace with carriages
idrawn by four white horses, after the fashion of the tyrant
JDionysius. This haughty state and style was accompanied by a

forresponding contempt for all men, by ears contemptuously deaf
0 entreaty and an insulting tongue, by denial of access, not
pnly to strangers but also to his guardians, by monstrous lusts
and by an inhuman cruelty. Consequently there was such
Universal terror that some of the guardians forestalled the
horrors of execution by suicide or flight. Three of them, who
|ilone could enter the palace with some familiarity, Andranodorus
i\nd Zoippus, Hiero's sons-in-law, and a certain Thraso, com-
[nanded indeed not much attention on other matters, but, as the
two first inchned to Carthage, while Thraso was for alliance with
Rome, they now and then by their quarrels and party-strife
■ittracted to themselves the notice of the young prince. Mean-
vhile a conspiracy directed against the tyrant's life was disclosed
i)y a soldier's servant, a lad of the same age as Hieronymus and
'ccustomed from boyhood to all the privileges of familiarity.
The informer could name only one of the conspirators,
heodotus, by whom he had himself been solicited. The man
as instantly arrested and delivered up to Andranodorus to be
irtured, but though he unhesitatingly confessed about himself,
e was silent about his accomplices. At last, when torn by
very torture too dreadful for human endurance, pretending

Conspiracy
agaim t hint.

198 Livy.

BOOK XXIV. that he was conquered by his sufferings, he aimed his disclosure
not at the really guilty, but at the innocent, falsely asserting
that Thraso was the author of the plot, and that they never
would have dared such an attempt but for their reliance on so
powerful a leader. He named, too, men continually at the tyrant's
side, men who occurred to him as the cheapest victims, while
amid his anguish and groans he was concocting his story.
Thraso's name rendered the disclosure particularly probable to ,
the tyrant's mind. He was therefore at once given up to
punishment, and in his penalty were included the rest, all as
innocent as he. Of his accomplices not a single man hid him-
self or fled, all the time that their partner in the plot was being
tortured ; such was their confidence in the honour and fidelity of
Theodotus, and such Theodotus' own resolution in keeping his
secret.

6. The sole tie of friendship with Rome was gone now
that Thraso was out of the way, and there was at once a
decided tendency to revolt. Envoys were despatched to
Hannibal, and he sent back along with a nobly-born youth,
Hannibal by name, Hippocrates and Epicydes, natives of
Carthage, who while originally descended from a grandfather
exiled from Syracuse, were on the mother's side Carthaginians.

Alliance between Through them an alliance was formed between Hannibal and
^d^HannJbal ^^^ Syracusan tyrant, with whom they stayed, with Hannibal's
consent. Appius Claudius, the prastor, who had the province of
Sicily, on hearing this, at once sent envoys to Hieronymus.
The envoys said they came to renew the alliance which had
existed with his grandfather, but they were heard and dismissed
with ridicule, Hieronymus asking them in jest, how they had
fared in the battle of Cannae. " He could hardly believe," he i
said, " the story of Hannibal's envoys, and he wished to know '
" the truth, that he might make his plans accordingly, as to
" whose prospects he should attach himself" The Romans
told him that they would come back, when he began to listen
seriously to such communications, and warning rather than
begging him not to break faith with them lightly, took their
departure.

Hieronymus now sent an embassy to Carthage to conclude
a treaty based on his alliance with Hannibal. It was stipulated

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

199

Hieronyntui

concludes a

treaty iinth

Carthage.

that, when they had driven the Romans out of Sicily, which BOOK XXIV.

would soon be accomplished by sending a fleet and an army,

the river Himera, which about divides the island, should be the

boundary between the Syracusan and Carthaginian dominions.

Hieronymus, puffed up by the flatteries of the people, who bade

him remember not only Hiero, but likewise king Pyrrhus, his

maternal grandfather, soon afterwards sent a second embassy,

to express his opinion that in fairness all Sicily ought to be

ceded to him, while the empire of Italy might be claimed as a

right by the Carthaginians. This fickleness and boastful temper

in a headstrong boy excited no suspicion and called forth no

censure from the Carthaginians, who cared only to detach him

from the Romans.

7. Everything, however, with him was tending to a swift
destruction. He had sent forward Hippocrates and Epicydes
with two thousand armed men each, to make attempts on the
towns held by Roman garrisons, while he himself with the rest
of his army, consisting of about fifteen thousand infantry and
cavalry, had started for Leontini. The conspirators, all of whom
happened to be soldiers, took possession of an empty house,
overlooking a narrow street along which the king used to go to
the forum. There all but one man stood ready armed, awaiting
his passage, and to that man (Dinomenes was his name), as
he was in the body-guard, was assigned the part of detaining
on some pretext the rear of the procession, the moment the
king approached the door of the house. All was done as had
1 been arranged. Dinomenes, pretending to disentangle his foot
from a knot fastened round it, stopped the throng, and caused
such a gap in it that the king, attacked as he passed, without
I any armed attendants, was stabbed with several wounds before
i succour could arrive. Shouts and uproar reached the ears of
I the others, and a shower of darts was discharged at Dinomenes,
j who, it was now clearly seen, was stopping the way. Yet he
I escaped them with but two wounds. The flight of the body-
, guard followed the instant they saw the king prostrate. Some
of the assassins hurried to the forum, and found a people over-
joyed at their freedom ; some went to Syracuse, to forestall the
1 designs of Andranodorus and the other royal ministers.

In this critical state of affairs^ Appius Claudius, seeing

He is

assassiruited.

200 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. war starting up at his doors, informed the Senate by letter
that Sicily was attaching itself to the Carthaginians and to
Hannibal. He himself, to check the Syracusan plans, con-
centrated all his garrison forces on the boundary-line between
the Roman province and the king's territory. At the year' s
close Quintus Fabius, by the authority of the Senate, fortified
« Pozzuoli. and garrisoned Puteoli,* which during the war had begun to
Election of be used largely as a market. Then he went to Rome for the

consuls at Rome, gjections, of which he gave notice by proclamation for the first
election-day he could fix. He went straight from his journey
past the city into the Campus Martius. That day the first
voting fell to the lot of the junior century of the tribe of Anio,
and this nominated to the consulate Titus Ctacilius and Marcus
^milius Regillus. Thereupon Quintus Fabius, as soon as there
was silence, made the following speech : —

speech of Fnbins 8. " If we had peace in Italy, or war with an enemy who

on the occasion, a allowed somewhat wide room for carelessness, he who should
" put any obstacle in the way of your partialities when you go
" to the poll to confer office on whom you choose, would in my
" opinion be quite unmindful of your freedom. When, however,
" we know that in this war, with this enemy, no general has ever
" blundered without terrible disaster to us, you ought to begin
" your voting for the election of consuls with as much care as
" you go armed to the battle-field. Every one should say to
" himself: ' I nominate a consul who is a match for Hannibal.'
" This year at Capua, Vibellius Taurea of Campania, a knight
" of the first rank, challenged us, and he was met by a Roman
" knight of the first rank, Asellus Claudius. Against a Gaul
t Teverone. " who in old days challenged us on the bridge over the Aniof our
" fathers sent Titus Manlius, in the pride of his strength and
" courage. It was for the same reason, not many years after-
" wards, I must maintain, that you had no distrust of Marcus
" Valerius, when he armed himself for the combat against a
" Gaul who challenged us in like fashion. As we desire to have
" infantry and cavalry superior to the enemy, or at least his
" match, so let us look out a commander-in-chief who is a match
" for the enemy's general. Even when we have chosen the first
" general in our state, a man hastily selected and appointed
" for a year will be pitted against a veteran officer always in

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 201

" command, who has none of the restraints of either time or BOOK XXIV.
" law to hinder him from doing and directing everything just as
" the exigencies of war require. With us, on the other hand,
" the year closes in the midst of our preparations, and when we
" are only beginning our work.

" I have said enough to show what sort of men you ought to
" appoint consuls. It remains for me to say a few words about
" those in whose favour the first vote has been given Marcus
" ^milius Regillus is the priest of Quirinus, and we cannot let
"him leave his sacred duties or keep him at home without
" neglecting either what is due to the gods or what is due to the
" war. Otacilius is the husband of my sister's daughter, by
" whom he has children. Still, what you have done for me and
" my forefathers is such that I must hold the public interest
" dearer than my private connections. Any sailor or passenger
" can steer a ship in a calm sea, but when a furious tempest has
" burst forth and the ship is hurried along by the gale through
" troubled waters, then there is need of a good man and a pilot.
" We are now sailing over a tranquil sea, but have already been
" all but sunk by several storms, and therefore you ought with
" the utmost care to consider and take thought, who is to sit at
" the helm.

" We have tried you, Otacilius, in a comparatively small

" matter. You have certainly given us no proof why we should

" trust you in a greater. This year we equipped a fleet

" which you commanded, with three objects. It was to ravage

" the coast of Africa ; to protect for us the shores of Italy ;

" above all, it was to hinder the transport of reinforcements with

" money and supplies for Hannibal. Appoint Otacilius consul, if

" he has rendered, I do not say all, but some one of these services

" to his country. If, while you commanded the fleet, any help

i " from home reached Hannibal safe and entire, just as if there

I " was peace at sea ; if, again, the coast of Italy has been this

1 " year more dangerous than that of Africa, what can you say for

I " pitting you, above all men, as our general, against Hannibal?

1" If you were consul, we should think it necessary to nominate

j " a dictator after the example of our fathers. Nor could you

j" feel angry at some one of our Roman citizens being esteemed

i I" superior in war to yourself. It is no man's interest more than

202 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. " your own, Otacilius, that a burden should not be laid on your
" shoulders which would crush you. I most decidedly advise
*' you, fellow citizens, that in the very same spirit in which, were
" you standing armed for battle, you would choose two com-
"manders, under whose leadership and guidance you would
" wish to fight, so you should choose your consuls to-day ; men
" to whom your children are to swear the oath, at whose
" bidding they are to muster, under whose eye and direction
" they are to serve. The lake of Trasumennus and the field of
" Cannas are melancholy examples to recall, but they are also
"a salutary warning to beware of like disaster. Herald,
" summon back to the poll the juniors of the tribe of Anio."
Fabius 9. As Titus Otacilius meanwhile kept furiously exclaiming and

Marcehiis roaring out at Fabius that he wanted his consulship prolonged,
^"consulf ^^^ consul ordered the lictors to step up to him. Having gone
straight from his journey to the Campus Martius, he had not
entered the city, and so he reminded Otacilius that the rods and
axes were still carried before him. Again the first century went
to the poll, and bestowed the consulship on Quintus Fabius Maxi-
mus for the fourth and on Marcus Marcellus for the third time.
The rest of the centuries, without a difference, nominated the
same men. One praetor too was re-elected, Quintus Fulvius
Flaccus. Among the others were appointed Titus Otacilius
Crassus for the second time, Quintus Fabius, the consul's son,
at the time curule aedile, and Publius Cornelius Lentulus. As
soon as the elections for praetors were over, the Senate passed a
resolution assigning the city jurisdiction with extraordinary
powers to Quintus Fulvius, and he was specially to have the con-
trol of the capitol, when the consuls had gone to the war. There
were great floods twice that year, and the Tiber overflowed the
district with a terrible ruin of houses and destruction both of
cattle and human beings.

It was in the fifth year of the Second Punic war that Quintus
Fabius Maximus for the fourth and Marcus Marcellus for the
third time entered on the consulship, attracting to themselves in
an unusual degree the sympathies of the citizens. For many
years there had not been such a pair of consuls. Old men:
recalled how in like manner Maximus Rullus and Publius
Decius had been nominated consuls for the war with the Gauls,

B.C. 214.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

203

Military
arrangements
of the Romans.

and subsequently Papirius and Carvilius, to oppose the Sam- book xxiv
nites and Bruttians with the peoples of Lucania and Tarentum.
Marcellus, being with the army, was appointed consul in his
absence ; Fabius, who was present, and himself holding the
elections, had his consulship prolonged. The crisis and the
exigencies of war, involving peril to the State's existence,
rendered it impossible for any one to criticise the precedent,
or to suspect the consul of ambition. Indeed, they rather
praised hts magnanimity ; for knowing, as he did, that the
State needed a supremely able commander, and that he was
unquestionably such himself, he thought less of any personal
unpopularity which might arise out of his election than of the
interests of the country.

10. On the day on which the consuls entered on office the

Senate was convoked in the Capitol. First of all it was decided

that the consuls were to determine by lot or by arrangement

between themselves, previous to their departure for the army,

which of them should hold the elections for the appointment

of censors. All who were with the troops had their commands

prolonged, and orders to remain in their respective provinces

were given to Tiberius Gracchus in Luceria, where he was with

an army of volunteer slaves, to Terentius Varro in Picenum,

and to Manlius Pomponius in the country of the Gauls. Among

the praetors of the past year Quintus Mucins was to have, as

pro-pra£tor, the province of Sardinia, and Marcus Valerius was

' to be near Brundisium to have charge of the coast and keep a

j vigilant eye on all the movements of Philip, king of Macedon.

1 To Publius Cornelius Lentulus, as praetor, Sicily was assigned

i as his province, and to Titus Otacilius the fleet, which he had

I commanded in the previous year against the Carthaginians.

\ Several portents were announced that year. The more they

were believed by simple-minded and pious people, the more

inumerous were the reports of them. At Lanuvium, within the

Itemple of Juno Sospita, crows, it was said, had built a nest ;

tin Apulia a palm with green leaves had caught fire ; at Mantua

lin overflow of the waters of the river Mincius* had had the

ippearance of blood ; at Cales it had rained chalk, and at Rome

alood in the cattle-market ; in the Insteian quarter an under-

jn'ound spring had burst forth with such a gush of water that

Portents.

MIncio.

204

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV.

* Castiglione.
t Palestrlna.

t Spolelo.

Disposition of

the Roman

armies.

The fleet
strengthened.

some jars and casks on the spot were overturned and swept
away, as it were by the force of a torrent ; lightning had struck
a public hall on the Capitol, a temple in Vulcan's field, a
walnut tree and a public road in the Sabine country, as well
as the city wall and a gate at Gabii.* Soon there was talk of
other miraculous occurrences. The spear of Mars at Praeneste f
had moved of its own accord ; an ox in Sicily had spoken ;
a child in its mother's womb in the Marrucine country had
shouted "Ho, triumph"; a woman at SpoletumJ had been
turned into a man ; an altar had been seen in the sky at Hadria,
with forms of men round it in white apparel. And even at
Rome itself, within the city, a swarm of bees had been seen in
the forum, and immediately afterwards, some persons declaring
that they beheld armed legions on the Janiculum, roused the
citizens to arms. Those who were on the Janiculum at the
time declared that no one had been seen there except the
ordinary inhabitants of the hill. For these portents expiation
was made with victims of the larger kind by direction of the
diviners, and a day of public prayer was appointed to all the
gods who had shrines at Rome.

II. Having done all that was proper to make peace with
heaven, the consuls took the Senate's opinion on the public
policy, the conduct of the war, the required amount, and the
disposal of the military forces. It was decided to carry on the
war with eighteen legions. Each consul was to have two for
himself. Gaul, Sicily, and Sardinia were to be held each with
two legions ; Quintus Fabius the praetor was to have two for
the charge of Apulia, and Tiberius Gracchus two of volunteer
slaves in the neighbourhood of Luceria. One was to be left for
Caius Terentius, the pro-consul, in Picenum, one for Marcus
Valerius with the fleet near Brundisium, and two were to
garrison Rome. To make up the full number it was necessary
to levy six new legions. These the consuls were directed to
raise at the earliest opportunity, as well as to equip a fleet, so
that with the ships stationed off the coast of Calabria the fleet
that year would be made up to a hundred and fifty war ships.

The troops levied, and a hundred new vessels launched,
Quintus Fabius held elections for the appointment of censors.
Marcus Atilius Regulus and Publius Furius Philus were

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

205

Sailors
/jimisfied <it
private cost.

appointed. As rumours of the war in Sicily gained ground, BOOK XXIV

Titus Otacilius received orders to proceed thither with his fleet.

Sailors were wanting, and so the consuls, by direction of a

resolution of the Senate, issued an edict to the effect that all

persons who themselves or whose fathers in the censorship of

Lucius Emilias and Caius Flaminius had been assessed from

five thousand to ten thousand denarii, or whose property had

subsequently reached that amount, should furnish one sailor,

with six months' pay ; those whose assessment was from ten

thousand to thirty thousand denarii, three sailors, with a year's

pay ; those above thirty thousand up to a hundred thousand,

five sailors ; those above a hundred thousand, seven sailors.

Senators were to furnish eight, with a year's pay. Sailors were

supplied in accordance with this edict ; they were armed and

equipped by their masters, and embarked with ready-cooked

rations for thirty days. This was the first occasion on which

a Roman fleet was manned with seamen furnished at private

cost. ^

12. These unusually great preparations especially alarmed

the people of Campania, who feared that the Romans would

begin the year's campaign with the siege of Capua. So they

sent envoys to Hannibal, imploring him to advance with his

army to Capua, as new armies were being levied at Rome to

attack the city, no other defection having so greatly provoked

the wrath of the Romans. With such agitation did they report

the news that Hannibal, assured that he must be prompt or

the Romans would forestall him, quitted Arpi and established

I himself in his old camp at Tifata, overlooking Capua. From

I Tifata, where he left some Numidian and Spanish troops as a

I defence both for his camp and for Capua, he marched with the

I rest of his army to lake Avernus, on the pretext of offering

1 sacrifice, but really to make an attempt on Puteoli* and its

: garrison. Fabius, on being informed that Hannibal had moved

I from Arpi and was going back into Campania, marched night

1 and day without intermission, and returned to his army. He

also directed Tiberius Gracchus to bring up his forces from

Luceria, and Ouintus Fabius, the prastor, the consul's son, to

take the place of Gracchus in those parts. At the same time two

jPrastors started for Sicily, Publius Cornelius to command the

Terror of the
Catnpanians.

PoszuolL

206

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. army, and Otacilius to have charge of the coast and of the
marine. The other praetors went to their respective provinces.
Those whose term of office had been extended, were appointed
to the same countries as in the past year.

13. While Hannibal was at lake Avernus, five young nobles
from Tarentum came to him. They had been taken prisoners,
some at lake Trasumennus, the others at Cannas, and had been
sent to their homes with the courteous treatment which the
Carthaginians had uniformly shown to all the Roman allies.
They told Hannibal that out of gratitude for his kindness they
had prevailed on a majority of the young men of Tarentum to
prefer his friendship and alliance to that of Rome. As envoys
sent by their fellow townsmen they begged Hannibal to march
his army closer to Tarentum. " Only let his banners and his
" camp be seen from Tarentum, and the city would come over
" to him without a moment's delay. The commons were under
" the control of the younger men, and the government was in
" the hands of the commons." Hannibal praised them warmly,
loaded them with splendid gifts, and bade them return home
and mature their plans. He would be with them himself ,at
the right moment. With this assurance he dismissed the
Tarentine envoys.

Meanwhile he was himself full of eagerness to secure Taren-
tum. It was, he saw, a rich and noble city, situated too on
the coast, and most conveniently for Macedonia. King Philip
would make for this port, were he to cross into Italy, as the
Romans held Brindisium. So, having finished the sacrifice
he had come to offer, and ravaged during his stay the country
round Cumae as far as the promontory of Misenum, he suddenly
moved his army towards Puteoli, to surprise the Roman gar-
rison. It consisted of six thousand men, and the place was
defended by fortifications, as well as naturally strong. Here the
Carthaginian lingered three days. He attempted every part of
the fortress without any success, and then, more out of rage
than with any hope of becoming master of the city, marched
to plunder the district round Naples. His arrival in a country
bordering on their own stirred the populace of Nola, who had
long disliked the Romans and been at feud with the senate of
their state. Envoys accordingly came to invite Hannibal with a

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 207

confident promise of the surrender of the town. Their design BOOK XXIV.
was anticipated by Marcellus, who was summoned by the prin-
cipal citizens. In one day he reached Suessula from Cales,
although the river Vulturnus had delayed his passage. On the
following night he threw into Nola six thousand infantry and
three hundred cavalry as a protection to the senate. While the
consul was doing everything with promptness to secure the
place against attack, Hannibal was frittering away his time ; as
he had twice already made the same attempt without success, it
became rather slow to put faith in the people of Nola.

14. The consul, Quintus Fabius, about this same time Hannoand
marched to attack Casilinum, which was held by a Carthaginian Beneventum.
garrison, while, almost as if by mutual arrangement, Hanno on
one side advanced from Bruttium with a large force of infantry
and cavalry on Beneventum, and Gracchus on the other side
approached the place from Luceria. He was the first to enter
the town. Soon afterwards, hearing that Hanno had encamped
about three miles from it by the river Caloris, and was ravaging
the country, he too quitted the walls and took up a position
about a mile from the enemy. There he harangued his troops.
His legions were to a great extent made up of volunteer slaves,
who preferred silently earning their freedom by another year's
service to demanding it publicly. Yet, as he left his winter
quarters, he had heard murmurs among the soldiers on their
march, who asked whether they were never to serve as free
men. He had told the Senate by letter that the question was
not so much what the men wanted as what they had deserved,
adding that up to that day he had had from them good
and brave services, and that all they wanted to complete their
resemblance to a regular soldier was their freedom. Leave Gracchus' s offer
j was given him to do in the matter whatever he thought was for *" slaves t^"hir
the state's interest. Accordingly, before he engaged the enemy, army.
I he publicly gave out that " the long-hoped-for opportunity of
1" winning their freedom had arrived. Next day he would fight
" a pitched battle in the clear, open plain, where, without any fear
" of ambuscades, matters could be decided by genuine valour.
(" Whoever brought back the head of an enemy, should at once
1" by his order be a free man ; but any one who quitted his post
1" should suffer the death of a slave. Every man's fortune was -

2o8 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. " in his own hand ; their freedom would be guaranteed, not by
"himself only, but by the consul, Marcus Marcellus, and the
" entire Senate, whom he had consulted respecting it, and who
. " had allowed him to decide."

Gracchus then read out to them the consul's despatch and
the Senate's resolution. Thereupon they raised a shout of
hearty approval, clamouring for battle, and furiously insisting
that he should forthwith give the signal. Gracchus, having
given out that he would fight next day, dismissed the assembly.
The men were overjoyed, those especially who were to have
their freedom as the reward of one day's good service, and
spent their remaining time in getting their arms in readiness.
Sharp IS- Next day, as soon as the signals began to sound, they

engagement, ^gj-e the very first to assemble, prepared and armed, at the gene-
ral's tent. With sunrise Gracchus led out his army to battle.
The enemy too showed no hesitation about fighting. He had
seventeen thousand infantry, chiefly Bruttians and Lucanians,
and twelve hundred cavalry, a very few of whom were Italians,
the rest being almost all Numidians and Moors. The fight was
both fierce and long, and for four hours hung in suspense. To
the Romans nothing was a worse hindrance than the enemy's
heads, offered as a price of freedom. The moment a soldier
had promptly slain his foe, he first wasted his time in labouring
to cut off the head amid the crowd and confusion ; then, as his
right hand was occupied in holding the head, he ceased, however
brave a man, to be a fighter, and so the battle was left in the
hands of the slow and timid. Gracchus, on being told by the
officers that not a man of the enemy was now being wounded
where he stood, but only those who had fallen were being be-
headed, and that the soldiers carried heads in their right hands
instead of swords, at once had the order given that they were to
fling away the heads and rush on the enemy. " Their valour,"
he said, " was sufficiently clear and conspicuous, and freedom
"would be a certainty to such brave men." The battle was
then renewed, and the cavalry too charged the enemy. The^
Numidians promptly met them, and, as the fight of the cavalr
was now as fierce as that of the infantry, the result again beJ
came doubtful. The generals on either side heaped reproachesil
on their foe, the Roman taunting the Bruttians and Lucaniansjl

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 209

with having been repeatedly beaten and conquered by his book xxiv.
ancestors, while the Carthaginian talked of Roman slaves and
soldiers fresh from a slave's prison, till at last Gracchus gave
out that they must not hope for freedom, unless on that very day
the enemy were routed and put to flight.

16. At these words their hearts were finally roused, and
again raising a shout, like different men, they threw themselves
with such force on the enemy that further resistance was impos-
sible. First the Carthaginian troops before the standards, then
the soldiers immediately round them, fell into disorder, and at
last their whole army was broken. Then there was unmistak-
able flight, and a rush of fugitives into the camp, in such panic
and confusion that even at the camp-gates and intrenchments
not a man stood his ground, and the Romans, who pursued
in almost unbroken order, began another fresh battle within
the enemy's lines. As the fighting was confined to a narrow
I space, the slaughter was all the more dreadful. It was
I helped on, too, by some prisoners who, snatching up swords
jamid the confusion and forming themselves into a body, cut Defeat 0/ the
I down the Carthaginians in the rear and hindered their flight. Carthaginiatts.
jThus, out of so numerous an army, barely two thousand
men, chiefly cavalry, escaped with their commander; all the
-rest were slain or captured. Thirty-eight standards were
ubIso taken.

U Of the victors about two thousand fell. All the spoil, except
\ :he prisoners, was given to the soldiers, any cattle being also
J reserved which was recognised by the owners within thirty days.
A^hen they had returned to the camp, laden with booty, about
bur thousand of the volunteer slaves, who had fought rather
eebly, and had not broken into the enemy' s lines with their
comrades, fearing punishment, posted themselves on a hill not
ir from the camp. Next day they were marched down by
heir officers, and came, the last of all, to a gathering of the
icii, which Gracchus had summoned. The pro-consul first
"•;irded with military gifts the old soldiers according to their ^
pcctive courage and good service in the late action; then, as Gracchus pves
:j,arded the volunteer-slaves, he said that he wished to praise 'slave"'tK-Tr
1, worthy and unworthy alike, rather than on that day to fretdoiH.
mish a single man. " I bid you all be free," he added, " and \

P \

2IO LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. " may this be for the good, the prosperity and the happiness of
" the State, as well as of yourselves."

A shout of intense and eager joy was raised at these words,
while the men one moment embraced and congratulated each
other, and the next lifted their hands to heaven with a prayer
for every blessing on the Roman people and on Gracchus him-
self. Gracchus then replied : " Before placing you all on the
" equal footing of freedom, I was unwilling to distinguish any of
" you as brave or as cowardly soldiers. Now as the State's promise
" has been already fulfilled, that all distinction between courage
" and cowardice may not be obliterated, I require you to give in
" to me the names of the men who, remembering that they had
" shrunk from the conflict, so lately seceded from us. I will call
" them one by one and bind them by an oath, that, those only
" excepted who shall have the excuse of illness, so long as they
" serve in war, they will take their meat and drink standing, and
" no otherwise. This penalty you will bear with resignation.
" if you reflect that yoii could not possibly have been branded
*' with any lighter mark for cowardice."

He then gave them orders to gather up the camp furniture.
The soldiers carrying or driving their spoil with mirth and jest-
came again to Beneventum, so full of frolic that they seemed tc
be returning from a banquet or some great festival rather th
from a battle-field. All the people of Beneventum poured out
a crowd and met them at the gates, embracing and congrati
lating the men and offering them hospitality. Every citizen h;
prepared a feast in the open court of his house ; to this
invited the soldiers and implored Gracchus to allow them
feast. Gracchus gave permission, on the understanding ihi
they all feasted in public, every man at his own doors. A
things necessary were brought forth. Wearing the cap
liberty or with heads wreathed with white wool, the volunteej
slaves feasted, some reclining, others standing and serving an
eating at the same time. It seemed a worthy occasion fo
Gracchus to order, as he did on his return to Rome, a picture c
that celebrated day to be painted in the temple of Libert)
which his father had had built on the Aventine out of mone
from state fines and had then dedicated.

17. During these proceedings at Beneventum, Hanniba

SECOND PUNIC WAR, 211

after ravaging the whole country round Naples, moved his book xxiv.
camp to Nola. As soon as the consul knew of his approach, he Hannibal at
sent for Pomponius, the pro-praetor, with the army which was in ■^'"^'*'
camp overlooking Suessula,* and prepared to meet the foe and to * Sessola.
fight without any delay. In the silence of night, through the
gate that was furthest from the enemy, he sent out Caius Claudius
Nero with the main strength of the cavalry. Nero had orders to Marcdlus
ride stealthily round the enemy's army and follow them up him.

slowly, and throw himself on their rear, as soon as he saw the
battle begun. This he failed to accomplish, whether from
mistaking the way or from want of time is uncertain. The
action began in his absence, and though the Romans had unques-
tionably the advantage, yet, as the cavalry did not show them-
selves at the right moment, the arrangements for the day were
disturbed. Marcellus dared not pursue his foe as he retired,
and gave the signal for retreat. But more than ten thousand of Roman victory.
the enemy are said to have been slain that day ; of the Romans
less than four hundred. Towards sunset Nero, with horses and
men wearied by a useless march of a day and a night, without
so much as having seen the enemy, began to return, and very
heavily was he censured by the consul, who declared that it was
through him that they had not repaid the foe for the defeat of
Cannae. Next day the Romans marched out to battle, while the
Carthaginians, thus silently confessing their own defeat, kept
themselves within their camp. The third day Hannibal, who
[ had now relinquished all hope of possessing himself of Nola,
; an attempt in which he had never been successful, started in the Hannibal
I silence of night for Tarentum, where he saw a better prospect ^iprches on
of a treacherous surrender.

18. The Romans conducted their affairs at home with quite Severity 0/ the

as much spirit as in the camp. The censors, who from the censors.,

ipoverty of the exchequer were entirely free from all business

jconnected with building contracts, turned their attention to

(controlling morals and punishing the evil ways which had arisen

!3ut of war, just as various ills are naturally developed in the

jody by long disease. First they summoned all who were said

0 have deserted the State after the battle of Cannae, and to have

vished to leave Italy. Of these the chief, Lucius Cascilius

\Ietellus, happened then to be quaestor. He and the others

P 2

212 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. charged with the same offence were ordered to take their trial,
and as they could not clear themselves, sentence was pro-
nounced that they had held language and made speeches to the
injury of the State, with the object of organising a conspiracy
for the abandonment of Italy. Next were summoned the
ingenious persons who sought to explain away an oath, all the
prisoners who thought that by stealthily stealing back into Han-
nibal's camp they had redeemed their sworn promise to return.

Many citizens ] As many of these and of those before-mentioned as had a horse

isjmnc zse . ^^ ^^^ State's expense were deprived of it. They were also

expelled from their tribe and were all disfranchised.

The attention of the censors was not, however, confined to
the regulation of the Senate and of the Knights. They erased
from the list of the "juniors" the names of all who had not
completed four years' service, unless they had had proper dis-j
charge on the excuse of illness. Moi-e than two thousand of
such names were included among the disfranchised, and all
were expelled from their tribes. To this cruelly severe action]
of the censor's was added a harsh resolution of the Senate.}
All whom the censors had degraded, were to serve on foot .and(|
be sent to Sicily with what remained of the army at Cannae |
This class of soldiers was not to finish its term of service till thf^
enemy had been driven out of Italy.

Although the censors from the poverty of the exchequd
still held aloof from all contracts for the repair of sacr^
buildings, for the furnishing horses for the state carriages
similar things, persons used to the taking of such public co^
tracts flocked to them in numbers. They earnestly implore
the censors to transact business and to give out contracts just ;
if there had been money in the exchequer. No one, they sai^
would make a claim on the exchequer till the war was ove^
Next came the owners of the slaves whom Tiberius Sempronii
had manumitted at Beneventum. They said that they had ha
notice from the three public bank directors that they were tj
receive the value of their slaves, but that they would not taki

LiSiraiiiyof the money till the war was at an. end. There being this zealoul
privcite citizens, disposition On the part of the commons to relieve the necessitiel
of the exchequer, the money first of wards and then of widowj
also began to be deposited, and those who paid in this mor

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 213

assured that they could not trust it more safely or more piously book xxiv.
than to the good faith of the State. Whatever was bought or
provided out of it for the wards or widows, was paid for by a
note of credit from the quaestor. This generous spirit among
private citizens spread from the city to the camp ; not a horse-
soldier, not a centurion would accept pay, and any man who
took it, they tauntingly called a mercenary.

19. The consul Quintus Fabius had his camp at Casilinum. FaMus besieges

The place -was held by a garrison of two thousand Campanians

and seven hundred of Hannibal' s soldiers, under the command

of Statius Metius, sent thither by Cneius Magius Atellanus, who

that year was supreme magistrate, and who had been arming

the slaves and populace indiscriminately, intending to attack the

Roman camp while the consul was intent on the siege of

j Casilinum. Nothing of all this escaped P'abius. He therefore

I sent to his colleague at Nola, saying that, while he was be-

1 sieging Casilinum, there must be another army to oppose the

I Campanians ; either he should come himself, leaving a moderate

force at Nola, or if he were detained at Nola and still felt

1 uneasy about Hannibal's movements, he would himself summon

to his aid the pro-consul Tiberius Gracchus from Beneventum.

! Marcellus, on receiving this message, left two thousand Marcelius

jtroops in garrison at Nola, and marched with the rest of his *'"^'>'<^ ^^^^"J"^"-

army to Casilinum. The Campanians, who were beginning to

l»c stir themselves, became quiet on his arrival. And so Casili-

^num now began to be besieged by the two consuls. Fabius,

nding that the Roman soldiers suffered continual losses in

eedlessly approaching the walls, and that his attempts had but

ittle success, thought it best, as matters of more importance

vere pressing them, to retire and abandon an undertaking,

limall in itself, but quite as difficult as some great enterprise.

jvlarcellus, however, urged that, though there were many things

vhich a great general ought not to attempt, yet he must not

( linquish an attempt once made, as the world's opinion has

it weight, for good or ill. He thus maintained his point —

I the attempt should not be abandoned. Mantlets, with every

iriety of engineering work and machinery, were now applied

' the place, and the Campanians implored Fabius to let them

part in safety to Capua. A few had passed out when Marcellus

214

LIVY.

Ctisilinum
taken.

BOOK XXIV. seized the gate by which they were leaving, and then began
an indiscriminate and universal slaughter, first, near the gate,
and soon afterwards in the town, into which the besiegers
had rushed. About fifty Campanians, who were the first to
leave, fled to Fabius for refuge, and under his protection reached
Capua. While these conferences and protracted appeals for
protection were going on, Casilinum, at a favourable moment,
was taken. The captives, such as were Campanians, and all
who were Hannibal's soldiers, were sent to Rome, and there
imprisoned, while the mass of the townsfolk were scattered
among the neighbouring populations to be under surveillance.

20. At the very time that the Romans, after their success,
withdrew from Casilinum, Gracchus despatched some cohorts,
which he had levied in Lucania, under the command of an
officer of allies, on' a marauding expedition into the enemy's
territory. They had dispersed far and wide, when Hanno fell
on them and repaid his foe with a defeat nearly as complete as
he had himself sustained at Beneventum. He then retired
rapidly into Bruttium, to avoid the pursuit of Gracchus. As to
the consuls, Marcellus returned, whence he came, to Nola,
while Fabius marched into Samnium, to ravage the district,
and to recover by arms the revolted cities. Caudium in
Samnium was cruelly devastated ; far and wide was the country
fired, and the cattle and inhabitants carried off as booty. Many
towns were taken by assault, Compulteria, Telesia, Compsa,
Fugifulae, and Orbitanium. Blanda in Lucania, and /E.3t
in Apulia, were stormed. In these cities five-and-twenty thou-
sand of the enemy were captured or slain. Three hundrei
deserters were recovered; these were sent to Rome by t
consul, and were, without exception, scourged in the Comitiui
and then flung from the rock. All this was done by Quintal
Fabius in the course of a few days.

Marcellus was detained from further action by illness
Nola. Meanwhile, Quintus Fabius, the praetor, who had char
of the country round Luceria, took by storm the town Acucai
and established a permanent camp at Ardaneae. During thes<
operations of the Romans in other parts, Hannibal had pushed
on to Tarentum, utterly destroying everything in his line 0'
march. Arrived, at last, in Tarentine territory, his army begar

Carthaginian
victory in
Lucania.

Fabius lays
xvaste Samnium.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 215

to advance peacefully, injuring nothing, and nowhere quitting its book xxiv.
proper route. This was clearly done, not from any moderation
in soldiers or general, but only to win the goodwill of the Taren-
tines. When he came almost close to the walls, there was no
movement, as he expected, at the sight of his vanguard, and Hannibal
he encamped about a mile from the city. Three days before ""ra'vuttnn.'
Hannibal approached the walls of Tarentum, Marcus Livius
had been sent by the pro-praetor Marcus Valerius, commander
of the fleet at Brundisium. He had organised a band of the
young nobles, and posted guards, as circumstances required, at
all the gates and walls of the city, and by his unflagging vigi-
lance night and day gave neither enemies nor doubtful friends
an opportunity of attempting anything. Hannibal, therefore,
after uselessly passing some days at the place, as none of those
who had paid him a visit at the lake of Avernus either came
themselves or sent him any message or letter, saw that he had
I been led thither by an idle promise, and moved his camp. Even
I now he did not injure the Tarentine territory, still clinging to
I the hope of shaking their loyalty, though his pretended mild-
I ness had as yet done him no good. On reaching Salapia,* as * Salpi.
I midsummer was past, and he liked the place for winter-quarters, //^/^//^ /,^^ ^,f
j he collected stores of corn from the country round Meta- SaUpia.
\ pontum and Heraclea. His Numidians and Moors were de-
I spatched on plundering raids through the Sallentine territory,
and the downs bordering on Apulia. Here they did not get
^ much booty ; it was chiefly herds of horses which they drove
j off. Of these, about four thousand were distributed among the
I cavalry to be broken in.

21. As the Romans saw that a war which could not pos-
jsibly be neglected was about to break out in Sicily, and that
',the tyrant's death had given the Syracusans enterprising leaders
'.rather than led to any change in policy or in public feeling,
they assigned the province to one of the consuls, Marcus Mar-
cellus. The murder of Hieronymus was instantly followed by
a mutiny among the soldiers at Leontini, and fierce shoutings
ihat the king's death must be expiated by the blood of the
.conspirators. Very soon the phrase " restored freedom," wel-
tome to the ear, and continually repeated, the hope of
largesse out of the royal treasure, and of military service under

2i6 LIVV.

BOOK XXIV. better leaders, the story, too, of the foul crimes and fouler
passions of the tyrant so wrought on their minds that the body
of the king, so lately the object of their regret, was suffered by
them to lie unburied. While the rest of the conspirators re-
mained on the spot to secure the control of the army, two,
Theodotus and Sosis, hurried with all possible speed on the
king's horses to Syracuse, bent on the immediate overthrow of
the royal minister, who as yet knew nothing. Not only, how-
ever, were they forestalled by rumour, and in such matters
nothing flies more quickly, but also by a messenger from
among the king's slaves. And so Andranodorus had secured
with garrisons both the island, the citadel, and every other
convenient position he could.

Commotion in The sun had set, and the light was quite dim, when Theodotus
Syracuse. ^^id Sosis rode into the Hexapylon. Displaying the king's
blood-stained robe and the crown that had adorned his head,
they rode through the Tycha, and summoning the people to
liberty and to arms, bade them assemble in the Achradina-
Some of the multitude rushed into the streets, some stood in
the doorways, others looked out from the windows of their
houses, asking incessantly what had occurred. Lights were
flaring everywhere, and the whole city was in an uproar ;
armed men were gathering in the open spaces, while an un-
armed crowd tore down from the temple of Olympian Jupiter
the spoils taken from Gauls and Illyrians, which Hiero had
received as a present from the Roman people, and had nailed ,
to the walls. All the time they prayed Jupiter that of his good-
will and favour he would grant them the use of those sacred
arms, with which to arm themselves in defence of their country,
their temples, and their freedom. The multitude also mingled
with the guards stationed in the principal districts of the city.
In the island, among other places, Andranodorus had posted
garrisons in the public granaries. The place, walled in witll
square stone-blocks, and fortified like a castle, was now seized
by a band of youth, assigned for its defence, and a message
was sent to the Achradina that thie granaries and the corn were
in the possession of the Senate.

22. At daybreak all the citizens, armed and unarmed,!
assembled in the Achradina, at the Senate-house. There, beforel

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 217

the altar of Concord, situate in the place, one of the leading book xxiv.

men, Polyccnus by name, delivered a speech, which was both Advke of

frank and moderate. "Men," he said, "who have experienced t " y<«nus.

" servitude and its humiliations are angry with an evil which

" they know well. What mischiefs are introduced by civil

" discord you Syracusans have heard from your forefathers,

" rather than actually witnessed. I praise you for taking up

" arms so promptly ; I shall praise you still more if you do not

" use them, unless driven by extreme necessity. At this crisis

" it will be well to send envoys to Andranodorus, to warn him

" that he submit himself to the Senate and the people, open

" the gates of the island, and surrender the fort. Should he

" wish to make a regency held in trust for another into a tyranny

" of his own, I, for my part, am in favour of our claiming back

" our liberties much more fiercely from Andranodorus than

" from Hieronymus."

After this speech the envoys were despatched. Then began Envoys sent to

a sitting of the Senate. This, though during Hiero's reign it ^''"^'■'^«^'^<"''"-

had continued to be the state-council, had never been convened

or consulted after his death until that day. Andranodorus, on

the arrival of the deputies, was alarmed by the unanimity of

the citizens, and by the fact that not only were other parts of

the city in military occupation, but also that the most strongly

fortified part of the island had been surrendered and was in

» hostile hands. But his wife, Damarata, Hiero's daughter, with

Hthe spirit of a queen and the arrogance of a woman still swell-

s jing within her, called him away from the envoys, and reminded

him of a saying often in the mouth of the tyrant Dionysius.

' ' One ought to leave a tyrant's throne,' he would say, " dragged

ly the heels, and not mounted on a horse. It was easy, at any

1 iioment a man pleased, to retire from holding a great posi-

' tion ; to create and win that position was arduous and difficult.

Make the envoys," said Damarata to her husband, "give you Counsel 0/ his

little time for deliberation ; use that forgetting soldiers from
t.eontini, and all will be in your power, if you promise them
the royal treasures."

These feminine counsels Andranodorus neither wholly re-
eled nor immediately accepted. He thought there was a
ifcr way of securing power by yielding for the present to the

2lS

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV.

Speech of

A ndraiiodoriis

to the

Syracusatis.

Election q/
pr^tors at
Syracuse.

exigencies of the crisis. So he bade the envoys take word back
that he would submit himself to the Senate and people. Next
day, at dawn, he threw open the gates of the island, and entered
the forum in the Achradina. There he mounted the altar of
Concord, from which the day before Polyasnus had delivered
his harangue, and began a speech, in which first he apologised
for his indecision. " He had kept the gates shut, not to separate
" his own interests from those of the state, but because he feared,
" when swords were once drawn, as to where bloodshed might
" end, and doubted whether they would be satisfied with the
" tyrant's death, sufficient though it was for freedom, or whether
" all who were connected with the palace by kinship or marriage,
" or in some official capacity, would be slaughtered, as being
" chargeable with another man's guilt. As soon as he saw that
'•' those who had freed their country were resolved to keep it free,
" and that all were consulting for the common welfare, he no
" longer hesitated to give back to his country his person and all
" things intrusted to his protection, inasmuch as the man who
" had intrusted them to him had been destroyed by his own
" infatuation." Then turning to the tyrant's assassins, and ad-
dressing Theodotus and Sosis by name, he said, " You have
" done a memorable deed. But, be assured, your glory is only
" begun ; it is not yet complete. The greatest peril awaits us,
" unless you study peace and unity, of a free state degenerating
" into a savage community."

23. After this speech, he threw down at their feet the keys
of the gates and of the royal treasury. That day, after the
assembly had broken up, the people, in their joy, with wives
and children, gathered round all the shrines of the gods.
Next day was held a meeting for the election of praetors.
Andranodorus was one of the first appointed. The majority oif
the rest had been among the assassins of the tyrant, and tv
Sopater and Dinomenes, were elected in their absence. Thes
men, on hearing what Tiad taken place at Syracuse, conveye
to that city the royal treasure at Leontini, and handed it eve
to financial officials appointed for the purpose. The same wa
done with the treasures in the island and the Achradina, an
that portion of the wall which fenced off the island by a neefl
lessly strong barrier from the rest of the city, was, by generjj

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

219

consent, demolished. All their other proceedings, too, were in
accordance with this bias of the popular mind towards freedom.

Hippocrates and Epicydes, when the news of the tyrant's
death was known, which Hippocrates had sought to conceal,
by actually killing the bearer of the tidings, found themselves
deserted by the soldiers, and returned to Syracuse, their safest
course, as they thought, under existing circumstances. That
they might show themselves there without exciting suspicion,
as men seeking an opportunity for revolution, they went first to
the prEetors, and then, with their introduction, to the senate.
" Hannibal," they affirmed, " had sent them to Hieronymus as
" a friend and ally ; they had obeyed the rule of the man to
" whom their commander wished them to be subject ; now
" they desired to return to Hannibal. As however the journey
" was not safe while Roman troops were wandering over the
"whole of Sicily, they begged to be allowed something of an
" escort to conduct them to Locri in Italy. The Syracusans
" would thus, by a trifling service, lay Hannibal under a great
" obligation."

Their request was readily granted. The departure of the
king's generals, needy and daring men, as well as adepts in war,
was what was desired. But Hippocrates and Epicydes did not
carry out their purpose as promptly as the urgency of the business
suggested. Meanwhile, some young men, themselves of soldierly
tastes, as well as intimate associates of the soldiers, went now
among the men, now among the deserters, most of whom were
Roman seamen, and then again even among the lowest class of
the populace, spreading calumnies against the senate and the
aristocracy. These, they said, were secretly plotting and con-
triving to get Syracuse under the power of Rome on the pretext
of a restored alliance, and then the faction which had been the
authors of the new treaty would be their masters.

24. A daily increasing multitude, ready to hear and believe
all this, flocked to Syracuse, and gave not only Epicydes but also
Andranodorus hopes of a revolution. Andranodorus was at last
quite wearied out by his wife's speeches. " Now,'' she would
Irepeat, " now was the time to seize the government, while all
" was in the confusion caused by a new and ill-regulated liberty,
" while a soldiery that had fattened on the royal pay was showing

BOOK XXIV.

Return of

Hippocrates and

Epicydes to

Syracuse.

They ask leave
to go back to
Hannibal.

Andranodorus
thinks 0/ seizing
the sovemment.

LrVY.

BOOK XXIV.

He is
assassinated.

Excitement at
Syracuse.

One of the

/•mtors

addresses the

people.

" itself, and leaders sent by Hannibal and well known to the
" troops were able to help his enterprise." He communicated
his plans to Themistus, the husband of Gelon's daughter, and a
few days afterwards incautiously disclosed them to one Ariston,
a tragic actor, to whom he had been wont to intrust also other
secrets. Ariston was a man of respectable family and position,
which were not disgraced by his profession, as nothing of that
kind is a matter of shame to a Greek. So, thinking that the
loyalty he owed his country ought to be his first consideration,
he laid an information before the praetors. As soon as they had
ascertained by decisive evidence that it was no mere idle tale,
they consulted the older senators, and having, with their sanc-
tion, placed a guard at the doors, they slew Andranodorus and
Themistus as they entered the senate-house. Confusion followed
a deed to all appearance unusually atrocious, and of which
others did not know the motive, but at last silence was obtained,
and the informer was conducted into the chamber.

The man told the whole story in its proper order, how the
beginning of the conspiracy dated from the marriage of Gelon's
daughter, Harmonia, to Themistus ; how some African and
Spanish auxiliaries had been put in readiness for the massacre
of the praetors and chief citizens ; how it had been openly
announced that the property of these men would be given to
their murderers ; how a band of mercenaries accustomed to
obey the biddings of Andranodorus had been already provided
for a second seizure of the island. Last, he put before their j
eyes every detail, how each conspirator was engaged, and the
whole conspiracy itself, with its array of armed men. The
senate then felt that the victims had deserved their death as 1
much as had Hieronymus. The cries of a bewildered mob, all j
uncertain as to the facts, were heard at the doors, but as they •
shouted their savage threats at the entrance of the chamber,
they were so awe-struck by the sight of the bodies of the con-
spirators that they silently accompanied the calmer portion of
the populace to a public assembly. Sopater was instructed by^
the senate and his colleagues to address them.

25, He began with the past life of the conspirators, just a^
if he was formally accusing them, and contended that of all
the wicked and impious deeds done since the death of Hieroi

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 221

Andranodorus and Themistus had been the authors. " What," book xxiy.

he asked, " could a boy like Hieronymus, barely entering upon

" youth, have done of his own accord ? Guardians and tutors had,

" in fact, reigned while another bore the odium, and therefore

" they ought to have perished either before Hieronymus, or at any

" rate along with him. Yet these men, long ago destined to

" the fate that they deserved, had plotted other new crimes after

" the tyrant' s death. This had been done openly at first when

"Andranodorus shut the gates of the island, and entered on the

"royal inheritance, claiming as a master what he had held as

" a steward. Afterwards, finding himself deserted by the occu-

" pants of the island, and beleaguered by all the citizens as soon

"as they had possession of the Achradina, he had begun

" secretly and treacherously to grasp at the sovereignty which

" he had in vain sought openly and publicly; and, when he who

" had plotted against freedom was chosen praetor among those

" who had given this freedom to their country, even favour and

"promotion could net turn him from his purpose. The truth

"was that wives of royal birth had inspired them with royal

"arrogance, for one had married Hiero's, the other Gelon's,

" daughter."

At these words there was a shout from every part of the
assembly that neither of those women ought to live ; that no
scion of a family of tyrants ought to survive. Such is the cha-
I racter of a mob ; either they are abjectly submissive or inso-
jlently domineering ; the independence which lies between these
two extremes, they can neither throw off nor enjoy without
plunging into excesses. Generally, too, persons are found who
iminister indulgence to their angry moods, and rouse their eager
'and intemperate passion to bloodshed and slaughter. So it was
jon this occasion. The praetors at once brought forward a motion,
iwhich was accepted almost before it had been made, to have the
jwhole royal family put to death. Damarata and Harmonia, the
(daughters of Hiero and Gelon, and the wives of Andranodorus The family of

and Themistus, were executed by men sent by the praetors for ^ death.

liie purpose.
26. There was a daughter of Hiero, Heraclea, married to

'oippus, who had been sent by Hieronymus as an envoy to

-ing Ptolemy, and had chosen voluntary exile. Knowing before-

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. hand that she too would receive a visit from the executioners,
she fled to the shrine where stood the household deities with
two maiden daughters, her hair dishevelled, and her appearance
in other respects most pitiable. To this appeal she added also
her entreaties. Invoking the memory of her father, Hiero, and
her brother, Gelon,. she implored them "not to suffer an
" innocent woman to be destroyed by the furious hatred
" provoked by Hieronymus, She had got nothing from
" his reign but her husband's banishment ; while he lived,
" her position had not been that of her sister's ; neither, after
" his death, had her interests been the same. Need she say
" that, had the designs of Andranodorus succeeded, her sister
" would have reigned with him, while she must have been a
" slave with the rest. Should Zoippus be told that Hieronymus
" had been slain and Syracuse set free, who could doubt that he
" would instantly take ship and return to his country ? How
" completely are men's hopes deceived ! His country was
" indeed free, but in it his wife and his children were struggling
"for life, and yet how had they opposed freedom and law?
" What danger was there -to any one from herself, a solitary
" woman, all but a widow, or from girls living in orphanhood ?
" They might say that though they feared no danger from her,
"yet they hated the royal family. Then let them banish hei
" from Syracuse and Sicily, and have her conveyed to Alex
"andria, the wife to the husband, the daughters to the
"father."

She saw that their ears and hearts were closed to her, and
that a sword was being sharpened, that no time might be lo:
Then ceasing to entreat for herself, she was urgent in supplic
tion that they would at least spare her daughters, "as ev<
" an enemy in his fury did not harm youth like theirs, and th
" should not in their vengeance on tyrants imitate themselv*
" the crimes they hated."

While she was speaking, they dragged her from her sanctua
and slew her ; then they fell on the maidens, who were sprinkle(
with their mother's blood. Grief and terror combined ha(
robbed them of reason, and, as if seized with frenzy, thej
bounded from the shrine with such a rush that, had escape int(
the street been possible for them, they would have filled thii

Murder of his
daughter
Heraclea.

lea ixii

SECOND rUNIC WAR. 223

city with their outcries. Even as it was, within the confined book xxiv.
space of the house, and amid a number of armed men, they
more than once eluded capture without injury to their persons,
and though the hands out of which they had to struggle were
many and strong, they tore themselves from their grasp. At last,
exhausted with wounds, while the whole place reeked with their
blood, they fell lifeless to the ground. This pitiable end was
made yet more pitiable by the circumstance that soon afterwards
there came a message, the result of a sudden change to a more
merciful mood, forbidding their execution. After pity came anger
that they had been so hasty in punishment as to leave no room
for repentance, no retreat from their vindictive mood. And so
the peopled fumed, and insisted on an election to fill the places
of Andranodorus and Themistus, both of whom had been
prastors, an election which was by no means likely to be satis-
factory to the prastors.

27. On the day fixed for the election, to the surprise of all, Epkydesand

1 , ' . - - ,' . r „ . ' Hippocrates

I one man at the extremity of the crowd nommated Epicydes, elected prceton.
\ and another thereupon nominated Hippocrates. The voices
then became more frequent, and carried with them the unmis-
takable assent of the people. There was disorder, too, in the
assembly, in which were throngs of soldiers, as well as of citi-
zens, and with these were largely mingled deserters, who were
eager for a wholesale revolution. At first the praetors pretended
ignorance, and were bent on delaying matters, but at last, yield-
iing to the unanimous feeling, and dreading a riot, they declared
the men elected.

; On being appointed they did not at once disclose their inten-

jtions. Yet they took it ill that envoys had gone to Appius

|Claudius to arrange a ten days' truce, and that, this having been

jgranted, others had been sent to negotiate a renewal of the

jincient treaty. The Romans had at the time a fleet of a

'lundred vessels at Murgantia, and were awaiting the result of

he disturbances at Syracuse arising out of the murder of the

y rants, and the effect on the people of their new and unwonted

jreedom. Meanwhile the Syracusan envoys had been sent by

(Vppius to Marcellus, who was on his way to Sicily, and Mar-

iellus, having heard the terms of peace, and thinking that Envoysfrom

1 r 7 o MnrceUus to

patters could be arranged, himself also despatched an embassy SyrcKuse.

224 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. to Syracuse, to discuss publicly with the praetors the renewal of
the treaty. And now there was by no means the same quiet
and tranquillity in the city. As soon as news arrived of a Car-
thaginian fleet being near Pachynus, Hippocrates and Epicydes,
throwing off all fear, pressed the accusation, now before the

Disturbances in mercenary troops, now before the deserters, that Syracuse was
' " y- being betrayed to the Romans. And when Appius began to
have his fleet stationed at the mouth of the harbour, thinking to
encourage the adherence of the other party, this gave a decisive
assurance to what were apparently idle charges. At first, too,
there was a tumultuous rush of the people to the shore to repel
any attempt at landing.
Advice of 28. Amid all this confusion it was decided to summon the

one of the chief . . 1 1 r-

cittzem. Citizens to an assembly. Some were for one course, others for
another, and they were on the verge of a riot, when Apollonides,
one of their chief men, addressed them in a speech which,
considering the occasion, was salutary. " Never," he said,
" had any state been nearer to ruin or to a prospect of safety.
" Were all unanimously to lean either to Rome or to Carthage,
" no state would be in a more fortunate or happy condition.
" But, should one party drag them one way, another another,
" then war between the Carthaginians and Romans would not
" be more frightful than that between the Syracusans them-
" selves ; for within the same walls each faction would have
" its troops, its arms, and its officers. There ought, therefore, to j
" be a supreme effort to secure unanimity ; the question which 1
" alliance was the more advantageous, was far less important,
" and of much lighter moment. Still, in choosing allies, they
" should rather follow the authority of Hiero than that ot
!' Hieronymus, and prefer a friendship tried for fifty years will
" happy results to one which was now strange to them, and
" which in the past had been untrustworthy. One thing too had
" an important' bearing on their deliberations. They couU
" refuse peace to the Carthaginians without having, at least in
" the immediate present, to be at war with them. With th^
" Romans they must at once be either at peace or war."

The speech had all the more weight for seeming to shov
little personal ambition or party spirit. To the praetors anc
certain select Senators were joined also some military advisersJ

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 225

and the officers and commanders of the auxiliaries were called book xxiv.

into council. The matter was repeatedly discussed in fierce

debates, and at last, as there appeared to be no possible means

of waging war with Rome, it was decided to conclude a peace „ p^'^" Vf'^^

1 • , , Rome decided on.

and to send an embassy along with the Roman envoys to secure
its ratification.

29. Not very many days had elapsed when envoys came
from Leontini, imploring protection for their territory. This
embassy seemed to the Syracusans a particularly opportune
means of relieving themselves of a disorderly and tumultuous
mob, and of -getting rid of its leaders. Hippocrates received
orders to march thither with the deserters, and these were
followed by many of the mercenaries, who made up the number
to. four thousand. It was an expedition welcome alike to the
jsenders and to the sent. The one hailed it as an opportunity
lof those revolutionary schemes for which they had long been
paving; the. others rejoiced at the thought that they had
leared their city of its dregs. But they relieved it only for a
■noment, to relapse, like a diseased body, into a more fatal
nalady. Hippocrates began ravaging in stealthy raids the
)orders of the Roman province ; afterwards, when troops were
lespatched by Appius to defend the lands of the allies, he made
ii most murderous onslaught with all his forces on a picquet
posted to oppose him. Marcellus, on receiving the news, instantly Marcellus

-, , , , demands the

ent envoys to Syracuse to say that the guarantees of peace had expulsion of
jieen destroyed, and that an 'occasioA of war would never be "'^Epi^ydls'!''^
I^anting, unless Hippocrates and Epicydes were banished, not
jnly from Syracuse, but from the whole of Sicily.

I Epicydes, unwilling either to be present where he might be Epicydes goes
jrraigned for the misdeeds of an absent brother, or to fail to ^o leontini,
jo his part to excite a war, went himself to Leontini, and, as he
jiw that the citizens were sufficiently exasperated against the
• j.oman people, began to try to alienate them likewise from the
yracusans. He told them " that the Syracusans had made
ipeace with the Romans only on the condition- that all states
'which had been under the kings were also to be under Syracusan
subjection. They were now not satisfied with freedom, unless •
they could rule in kingly fashion and domineer. They ought to
pave word sent back to them that the Leontines also thought it

Q

226

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV.

The Leon tines

decline to make

common cause

■with the

Syracusans.

Marcellns

■marches on

Leontini, and

takes the city.

" right to be free. For it was in the streets of their city of
" Syracuse ihat the tyrant had fallen ; it was there that the cry
" of freedom had first been raised, and it was to Syracuse that
"men flocked after the desertion of the royal leaders. That
" part of the treaty, therefore, ought to be struck out, or the
" treaty ought not to be accepted with such a condition."

The mass of the citizens were easily convinced. When the
Syracusan envoys complained of the slaughter of the Roman
detachment, and insisted on the departure of Hippocrates and
Epicydes to Locri, or wherever else they pleased, provided only
they quitted Sicily, they received a defiant answer. "They,"
the Leontines, " had not authorised the Syracusans to make
" peace with the Romans on their behalf, and they were not
" bound by other peoples' treaties.'' The Syracusans reported
this answer to the Romans, and denied that the Leontines were
under their control. " Consequently," they added, " the Romans
"might go to war with them witholit breaking the treaty
" between Rome and themselves, nor would they fail to do their
" part in that war, on condition, however, that, when subduei
" they were again to be under Syracusan subjection, as h:
"been stipulated in the peace "

30. Marcellus marched for Leontini with his entire arm
and summoned Appius also to attack in another quarter,
found such ardour in his troops from their rage at the slaught
of a detachment during negotiations for peace that at the vei
first assault the city was stormed. Hippocrates and Epicydei
as soon a? they saw the walls taken and the gates broken ope:
betook themselves with a few followers to the citadel. Theni
they fled secretly by night to Herbessus. The Syracusans h;
started from home with eight thousand armed men, and wei
met at the river Myla by news of the capture of the city. A
for the details, falsehood was mingled with truth. There ha(
been, the messenger said, an indiscriminate slaughter of soldier!
and of townsfolk, and he did not believe that a single adul
survived ; the city had been pillaged, and the property of thi
rich given away.

At these dreadful tidings the army halted. Amid univers;
excitement the officers (these were Sosis and Dinomenes) coi
suited what they were to do. A reasonable ground for pan

II

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 227

was lent to the. falsehood by the fact that deserters to the number BOOK xxiv.
of two thousand had been scourged and slain by the axe of the
executioner. As it was, not a Leontine citizen, not a soldier,
had been harmed after the city's capture. All their property had
been restored to them, except what had perished in the first
confusion of the storming. The Syracusans could not be induced
to go to Leontini, complaining that their fellow-soldiers had
been betrayed to be slaughtered, or even to await on the spot
more certain intelligence. When the praetors saw an inclination
to mutiny, but knew that the stir would not last long if their
leaders in folly were removed, they marched the army to Megara.
They themselves with a few cavalry pushed on for Herbessus in
the hope of securing the place by surrender amid a general
panic. Finding their attempt frustrated, and thinking they must
use force, they moved their camp next day from Megara, pur-
posing to attack Herbessus with their whole army. Hippocrates
and Epicydes thought. that their only resource, though it was not
at first sight a safe one, was to give themselves up to the soldiers, Hippocrates and
I who for the most part knew them well and who were now infu- fu^ender
riated by the rumour of their comrades' slaughter. And so they themselves

I , - , , , • , , to the Syracusan

i went out to meet the army. It happened that m the van were the troops.
I standards of six hundred Cretans who had served under them
I in the time of Hieronymus, and were under an obligation to
j Hannibal by whom they had been taken prisoners at Trasu-
mennus among the Roman auxiliaries and then released,
j Hippocrates and Epicydes recognising them by their standards
jand the appearance of their arms, held out olive-branches with
(other suppliant-emblems, imploring them to receive and protect
Ithem, and not deliver them to the Syracusans by whom they
jwould themselves be soon surrendered to the Romans to be
slaughtered.

31. They shouted in reply, "Be of good heart; we will
1' undergo any fate with you." During the interview the
standards were halted, and the march of the army arrested,
put yet the cause of the delay had not reached the commanding-
bfficer. When the report spread that Hippocrates and Epicydes
ivere there, and a cry rose from the whole army in hearty
pproval of their presence, the praetors instantly rode to the
in at full gallop. "What is this behaviour?" they asked

228

LIVY.

Artifice of
Hippocrates.

BOOK XXIV, vehemently; "what means this licence of the Cretans in
" holding conferences with the enemy, and letting them mingle
"in their ranks without any authority from the praetors?"
They ordered Hippocrates to be arrested and put in irons. The
word was followed instantly by clamour from the Cretans,
which was soon taken up by other soldiers, so that it was
evident that the prsetors, if they persisted, had cause for alarm.
Perplexed and doubtful as to their position, they ordered a
retreat to Megara, whence they had come, and sent intelligence
to Syracuse about their present situation. Hippocrates seeing
that men's minds were ready for any suspicion, employed a new
artifice. He sent out some Cretans to lurk in ambush about the
roads, and then read out a letter which he pretended to be an
intercepted communication, but which he had composed him-
self. It was addressed, " The praetors to the consul Marcellus."
After the usual greeting, it went on to say, " you have acted
" rightly and properly in not sparing any one at Leontini. But
" all the mercenary soldiers are in the same case, and Syracuse
" will never be at peace as long as there are any foreign
" auxiliaries either in the city or in their army. Do your best,
"then, to get into your power those, who, with their prsetors,
" are in camp at Megara, and give final freedom to Syracusi
"by their execution."

When this letter had been read out, there was everywhere
rush to arms, with such shouting that the praetors rode off pani
stricken amid the disorder to Syracuse. Even their flight di
not stop the mutiny, and violent attacks Were made on thi
Syracusan soldiers. None of them would have been sparei
had not Epicydes and Hippocrates resisted the fury of the mob
This they did, not out of compassion, or with any human(
purpose, but that they might not cut off from themselves al
hope of return. In the soldiers themselves they would thu^
have loyal adherents and hostages as well, while they would
secure the attachment of their kinsfolk and friends in the first
instance by this service, and afterwards by keeping them as a
pledge. Knowing, as they did, by experience, how susceptible
are the common people to any foolish and groundless excitement
they pitched on one of the soldiers who had been besie]
Leontini, and engaged him to carry intelligence to Syracus(

leptiDK
:ement|
sged ir J
,^racus(J

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

229

corresponding with what had been falsely reported at Myla. By book xxiv.
declaring that he vouched for its truth, and by relating things
thought doubtful, as if he had witnessed them, he was to rouse
the fury of the citizens.

32. The man not only won the belief of the populace, but Angry feeling of
he also profoundly impressed the Senate, into whose chamber he ^^'^ Syracusans

'^ ' against the

was introduced. Men by no means wanting in sense openly Romans.

avowed that it was very fortunate that the rapacity and cruelty

of the Romans had been unmasked at Leontini, and that, had

they entered Syracuse, they would have done the same or even

more hideous acts, inasmuch as their rapacity would have found

there a richer prize. All therefore agreed that they ought to

close the gates and guard the city, but all were not unanimous

in their fears and hates. To the military class and the majority

:of the population the name of Rome was odious, while the

iprsetors and a few of the aristocracy, though the false intelligence

jhad excited them, were for providing against a nearer and a

pore pressing danger. Already Hippocrates and Epicydes were

kt the Hexapylon, and there were incessant conversations

'imong the relatives of the native Syracusan soldiers in favour

l)f opening the gates and letting their common country be

defended against a Roman attack.

j One of the gates of the Hexapylon had now been opened,

Ind the soldiers were beginning to be admitted when the praetors

jame up. First they tried to check them by commands and

jhreats, then by their influence, and at last, finding it all in vain,

jegardless of their dignity they had recourse to entreaties, and

legged them not to betray their country to men who but lately

pre the ministers of a tyrant and were now the corrupters of

lie army. But the ears of the infuriated mob were deaf to

yerything, and the efforts from within to break open the gates

!ere as violent as those from without, till all had been forced

id the army was admitted into every part of the Hexapylon.

j The praetors fled with the youth of the citizens to the

[chradina. Meanwhile the enemy's army was swollen by the

'ercenary soldiers, the deserters, and all the late king's troops

hich were at Syracuse. And consequently the Achradina was

ken at the first assault, and all the praetors but those who

jcaped in the confusion were put to death. Night terminated

Popular
outbreak.

230 LIVY,

BOOK XXIV. the massacres. Next day the slaves were called together to
Hippocrates and T^ceive the Cap of freedom, and all prisoners were discharged.
Epicycles again Then this motlcy assemblage unanimously made Hippocrates
prcetors. and Epicydes prastors, and Syracuse after a brief gleam of
liberty fell back into its old servitude.
The Romans 33. The Romans on receiving this news at once moved

^"posMonat their camp from Leontini to Syracuse. Some envoys, as it
Syracuse. happened, sent by Appius, had passed through the harbour in
a five-banked vessel. A four-banked vessel which had been
previously despatched was seized as soon as it entered the
harbour's mouth, and the envoys themselves escaped with diffi-
culty.- And now even the laws of war as well as of peace were
abandoned, when the Roman army encamped at Olympium, a
temple, that is, of Jupiter, a mile and a half from the city. From
Roman embassy this place again it was decided to send an embassy, but the
Syr'acu^ans. embassy was prevented from entering the city by Hippocrates
and Epicydes, who came out to meet it with their partisans.

The Roman spokesman said that they wished to bring relief
and aid, not war, to the people of Syracuse, alike to those who
, had fled to them for refuge out of the midst of massacre, and to
those who under an overwhelming terror were enduring a
slavery more horrible than exile and even than death itself
Nor would they allow the atrocious slaughter of their allies to
go unavenged. If, therefore, a safe return to their own country i
was open for the refugees, if the authors of the massacre were
surrendered, and freedom and law restored to Syracuse, war
was wholly unnecessary. If, however, all this was refused,
whoever might be the obstacle, on him the Romans would
make war to the uttermost.
Epicydes replies Epicydes replied : " If you had had any message for us, wi
to it unfavour- « would have given you an answer. The refugees can retu:
" as soon as the government of Syracuse shall be in the handi
'* of those to whom you have come. Should the Romans be tb
" aggressors, you will soon learn by actual facts that it is b;
" no means the same thing to besiege Syracuse as to besieg(
" Leontini." He then left the envoys and closed the gates.
From that moment the siege of Syracuse began both by
hesiegedby the land and sea, landwards on the side of the Hexapylon, seawards
Romans. ^^ ^.j^^^. ^^ ^^ Axhradina, the walls of which are washed by the

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 231 '

waves. The Romans having taken Leontini in the panic of a book xxiv. .

first assault, felt confident that at some point they would force

an entrance into a wide and scattered city, and so they brought

up all the machinery employed in the attack of fortified

places.

34. An attempt made with such impetuous energy must Arc/n'me/fes : his
have secured success but for the presence at this crisis of one '^"^the'de/erut"
man at Syracuse. This was Archimedes, an unrivalled observer-
of the heavens and the stars, and yet more wonderful as an
inventor and contriver of military works and engines by which
he could with the utmost ease baffle the enemy's most laborious
efforts. The wall which was drawn along hills of various heights,
lofty for the most part and difficult of approach, though there
was also some lower ground accessible from the level of the
valleys, he furnished with engines of every description, suited
to the different localities. Marcellus assailed the fortifications
of the Achradina, which, as has been before said, are washed
by the sea, with sixty five-banked ships, while from his other
j ships archers, slingers, and light infantry also, whose peculiar
I missile is hard to be poised by an inexperienced hand, suffered
I scarcely a man to stand unwounded on the ramparts. As they
{ wanted room to discharge their missiles, they kept the vessels
sat a distance from the walls. The five-banked ships were
j lashed together, two and two, with their sides in close contact,
oars on the inner side having been removed, and then they
were propelled by the outer bank of oars, like one vessel,
carrying on board towers of several stories with other con-
trivances for breaking down the fortifications.

To oppose this naval attacking force Archimedes set engines
|of all sizes on the ramparts. Against the more distant vessels
jhe discharged stones of prodigious weight ; the nearer, he
lassailed with missiles, lighter indeed, but all the more incessant ;
last, he opened numerous apertures, a cubit in diameter, in the
jwall from the top to the bottom, that his men might shower their
4arts on the enemy, themselves unwounded. From a concealed
position, through these apertures they galled the enemy, some
with arrows, others with small so-called "scorpions." Some
/essels came close in, so as to be too near for the range of the
ngines ; on the bows of these vessels was dropped from a crane

232

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV.

The Roman
attack baffied.

The city
blockaded.

. Marcellus
recovers some of

the revolted
towns of Sicily.

* Capo Passaro-

Himilco arrives

with a

Carthaginian

force.

projecting over the ramparts an iron grappling-hook fastened
to a strong chain, which being swiftly lowered to the ground by
a ponderous leaden weight, raised the prow high in air, and set
the vessel on its stern. The hook was then suddenly let go,
and the vessel, to the great consternation of the sailors, was
dashed, as if it had fallen from the walls, with suCh violence on
the waves, that even if it fell straight, it took in a quantity of
water. Thus the naval attack was foiled, and the besiegers
turned all their efforts to an assault in full force by land.

Here too, however, every point had been furnished with the
same complete apparatus of engines, to which Hiero had devoted
for many years time and money, and Archimedes his singular
skill. The nature of the ground too helped the defence. The
rock on which the foundations of the wall were laid is for the
most part so steep that not only the missiles discharged from
the engines, but everything that rolled down by its own weight,
fell with fatal effect on the enemy. The same circumstance
rendered the ascent hard to climb and the footing precarious.
Finding therefore that every attempt covered them with ridicule,
the besiegers held a council, in which it was decided to abandon
all further assaults, and to cut off by a simple blockade the
enemy's supplies by sea and land.

35. Marcellus meanwhile marched with about a third of his
army to recover the cities which had revolted to Carthage during
the late commotions. Helorus and Herbessus he recovered by
voluntary surrender. Megara, which he stormed, he sacked and
destroyed as a terror to all other Sicilians, especially the Syra-
cusans. About the same time Himilco, who had long been with j
his fleet off the promontory of Pachynus,* landed at Heraclea \
(also called Minoa), with twenty-five thousand infantry, three
thousand cavalry, and twelve elephants ; a much larger force
than he had previously had with his fleet off Pachynus. The
fact was that as soon as Hippocrates had seized SyracusCji
Himilco went to Carthage, and there, backed up by envoys fror
Hippocrates and by a letter from Hannibal, in which it was said
that the time had arrived for the recovery of Sicily in the mos^
glorious way, thanks also to the weight of his personal presence
and counsel, he had easily prevailed on the people to send across
to Sicily as large a force as they could of infantry and cavalryij

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 233 .

On arriving he recovered Heraclea and a few days afterwards BOOK xxiv.
Agrigentum,* thus kindling in other states which sided with * Girgenti.
Carthage such hopes of expelling the Romans from Sicily that
at last even the besieged Syracusans raised their spirits. Be-
lieving that a portion of their forces sufficed for their city's
safety, they divided among them the operations of war, Epicydes Hippocrates
being intrusted with the direction of the defence, while Hippo- ^"syracuse to
crates was to join Himilco and carry on the contest with the ■'""* ^""'■
Roman consul.

With ten thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry Hippo-
crates marched out of the city by night at a point left unguarded,
and began to form a camp near the town of Acrillse. While
they were intrenching it, Marcellus came up on his way back
from Agrigentum, which he had found occupied, though he had
vainly put forth his utmost speed to get there before the enemy.
There was nothing which he less expected than to be met at
that time and place by a Syracusan army. Still, being afraid of
Himilco and the Carthaginians, for whom, with the force he
I then had, he was by no means a match, he continued to advance
with all possible vigilance, and with his troops prepared for any
emergency.

36. The precautions which he had so carefully taken against ffg /, defeated.

1 the Carthaginians served him, as it happened, against the

\ Sicilians. He came on them, as they were intrenching their

I camp, scattered, and in disorder, and mostly unarmed, and cut

off their entire infantry ; their cavalry, after a slight skirmish,

tied with Hippocrates to Acrae.f \ Paiazzolo.

Having by this battle checked the disposition of the Sicilians Marcellus again
to revolt from Rome, Marcellus marched back to Syracuse. A ^^-^'"'^ Syracuse.
I few days afterwards Himilco, who had now been joined by
i Hippocrates, encamped on the river Anapus | at about eight % Anapo.
miles distance.

About the same time fifty-five Carthaginian war-ships, under Arrival 0/ a
l>omilcar as admiral, sailed into the great harbour of Syracuse, anTo/a^Roman
^and a Roman fleet too of thirty five-banked vessels disembarked J^'-'^^-
Ithe first legion at Panormus.§ It might have seemed that the § Palermo.
Iwar had been altogether diverted from Italy, so intent was each
nation on Sicily. The Roman legion which had been landed at
Panormus and was on its way to Syracuse, Himilco counted on

234

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV,

Revolt of
Sicilian towns
Jroni Rome to

Carthage.

* Castro
Giovanni.

Proceedings at
Enna.

as his certain prey, but he was deceived as to its route. The
Carthaginian took his march inland, while the legion, accom-
panied by the fleet, proceeded along the coast and joined Appius
Claudius, who had advanced to meet it at Pachynus with a part
of his army.

Not a moment longer did the Carthaginians remain at
Syracuse. Bomilcar had but little confidence in his fleet, as
the Romans had fully twice as many ships, and he saw, too,
that useless delay would do nothing else than aggravate the
scarcity that distressed his allies. He therefore sailed out to
sea and crossed to Africa. Himilco too pursued Marcellus to
Syracuse without result, hoping for an opportunity of engaging
him before he was joined by a larger army. But finding none,
and seeing his enemy safe at Syracuse within fortified lines and
in great strength, he moved away his camp, not wishing to
waste his time in idly watching him and looking on at the
blockade of his 'allies. Wherever he might be invited by a
prospect of revolt from Rome, there he meant to bring up his
army and give courage by his presence to those who favoured
his cause. First he recovered Murgantia, the citizens of whifch
betrayed the Roman garrison. Vast stores of grain and
supplies of all kinds had there been collected for the Romans.

37. This revolt at once encouraged the hopes of other
states. Roman garrisons were either driven from their strong-
holds or were treacherously overpowered. Enna,* which stood
on a height, of which every side was a precipice, was not only
impregnable from its position, but it had also in its citadel a
strong garrison commanded by a man not likely to fall a victim
to any plot. Lucius Pinarius was a fearless soldier, and one
who depended more on guarding himself against the possibility
of being deceived than on the good faith of the Sicilians.
And now his vigilance in taking every imaginable precaution
had been quickened by hearing so continually of the betrayals
and revolts of cities and of slaughtered garrisons. So night ani
day alike every point was watched and defended by guardl
and sentries, and not a soldier laid aside his arms or quitte^
his post.

Of all this the chief citizens of Enna, who had already bee^
treating with Himilco for the surrender of the garrison, wer<j

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

235

well aware, and seeing that the Romans were not open to any book xxiv

treacherous surprise, they decided that they must go to work

openly. " The city and citadel," they said, " ought to be in their

" own control, if they had given themselves up to the Romans to

" enjoy freedom as allies, and not to be in their keeping as

" slaves. We think it fair," said they, " that the keys of the

" city gates should be returned to us. With good allies, their

" own loyalty is the strongest bond. It is only if of our own free

" will and without compulsion we continue in their friendship,

" that the people and Senate of Rome can be grateful to us."

To this the Roman officer replied that, " he had been
" charged with the city's defence by his commander-in-chief ;
'' that by him he had been intrusted with the keys of the city
" gates and with the custody of the citadel, and that he did not
" hold his trust by his own will or that of the citizens of Enna,
" but from him who had committed it to him. To quit one's
" post was with the Romans a capital offence, a law to which
" fathers had given a sanction by the execution even of their
" own children. The consul Marcellus was not far off; they
" should send envoys to him, as the matter was for his jurisdic-
I " tion and decision."

j Their answer was a refusal to send envoys, and they solemnly
! declared that if they could do nothing by words, they would
j seek some means of vindicating their freedom. Thereupon
Pinarius replied that " if they felt reluctance to send to the
I " consuls, they might at least allow him to meet the people in
1 " assembly, so that it might be known whether those threats
j " expressed the mind of all the citizens, or of only a few." By
general consent an assembly was proclaimed for the follow-
(ingday.

I 38. Pinarius, after this conference, retired to the citadel,
jand called together his soldiers. " You have heard, I presume,
'"soldiers," he said, "how the Roman garrisons have been
" lately surprised and overpowered by the Sicilians. This
" treachery you have escaped, first through the good favour of
" the gods, next through your own valour, and your persistent
" vigilance, day and night, under arms. I wish it may be pos-
' sible to get through the future also without either enduring or
' perpetrating unutterable horrors. This caution which we have

Pinarius,

commander of

the Roman

garrison,
addresses his

soldiers. ,

236 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. " hitherto used has been directed against secret treachery ; but
" as that is unsuccessful, they openly and publicly demand the
" keys of the city gates. As soon as we have surrendered them,
" Enna will at once be in the hands of the Carthaginians, and
" we shall be nlassacred here more foully than the garrison at
" Murgantia was massacred. With difficulty I have obtained a
" single night for deliberation, in which I might inform you of
*' our imminent peril. At daybreak they are to hold an assem-
" bly, with the object of accusing me and rousing the populace
" against you. So on the morrow Enna will be deluged either
" with your blood or with the blood of its citizens. If yoii are
" forestalled, there is no hope for you ; if you forestall them,
" there is no danger. The victory will be his who first draws
" the sword. You must therefore await the signal ready armed
" and with the keenest attention. I shall be at the assembly,
" and I will spin out the time in talking and discussing, till
" all is ready. When I give the signal by raising my gown,
" let me hear you raise a general shout ; rush on the crowd
" and strike down everything with the sword. See that no
" one survives from whom we can fear either force or fraud.
" I pray you. Mother Ceres and Proserpina, and all you other
" gods of the upper and under worlds who haunt this city, and
" these sacred lakes and groves, to stand by us, willing and
" propitious helpers, if and if only we are forming this our plan ]
" to escape, not to inflict, injury. I would say inore to exhort j
" you, soldiers, if you were going to fight with armed men.
" But it will be unarmed and unprepared men whom you will
" slaughter till you are weary. And the consul's camp is in
" the neighbourhood, so that we need fear nothing from Himilco '
" and the Carthaginians.''

39. After thus exhorting them he dismissed them to seek
refreshment and rest. Next day some posted themselves at
various points to block the streets and close all egress against
the citizens, while most of them gathered round the theatre or on
the ground above it, as they had been accustomed to be spectators
of the assemblies. The Roman commander was then introduced
to the people by the magistrates. He stated that to the consulj
and not to himself belonged the rightful decision of the matter,
and repeated for the most part what he had said the day before,

I

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

237

and they, first with some hesitation, then in increasing numbers, bookxxiv.
and at last with one voice, bade him surrender the keys. As
he hesitated and delayed, they assailed him with savage threats,
and it seemed that fatal violence would not be deferred another
instant. Then the officer gave the signal that had been
arranged, with his gown. His soldiers, long eager and pre- Massacre at
pared, raised a shout and rushed down, some from above-
taking the assembly in its rear, while others in close array
barred every outlet of the theatre. The people of Enna, pent
up in the hollow, were cut down, perishing in masses, not only
by the sword, but by their own efforts to flee, as they flung
themselves over each other's heads, and fell in heaps, the
unhurt on the wounded, and the living on the dead. Then
followed a wild rush in all directions ; it was as if the city had
I been stormed ; panic and slaughter were everywhere, for the
I soldiers' fury, though they were cutting down an unarmed crowd,
{ was no less fierce than if they had been infuriated by the peril
! of an equal foe and the excitement of battle. Enna was thus
j retained for Rome by an evil, but a necessary, deed.

j\ Marcellus, far from disproving all this, gave up the spoil of Sicilian feeling.

j the city to his troops, in the belief that the Sicilians would be

\ frightened into refraining from treacherous betrayals of the Ro-

1 man garrisons. And, indeed, this blow falling on a city that lies in

I the centre of Sicily, and is famous alike for the natural defences

which make its position conspicuous, and for the associations

j which connect every spot with the legendary Rape of Proserpine,

jwas noised throughout the whole island almost in a single day.

[By this infamous massacre had been dishonoured, so all

jmen felt, the dwelling, not of mortals only, but of gods, and

therefore those who had hitherto wavered, now revolted to

the Carthaginians. Hippocrates and Himilco betook themselves

respectively to Murgantia and Agrigentum, on finding that it

was to no purpose that they had advanced their forces at the

invitation of the traitors to Enna. Marcellus returned to Leon-

r.ini ; there he left a small garrison, after having conveyed to his

|:amp grain and other supplies. He then marched to the

blockade of Syracuse, whence he had sent Appius Claudius to

'^ome to stand for the consulate, appointing in his place

2uintiu3 Crispinus to have the charge of the fleet and of the old

Marcellus
tnarches back
to Syracuse.

238

LIVY.

BOOK XXIV.

War with
FhiliJ> nf
Macedon.

Oricum taken by
Philip;

retaken by
Valerius.

Apollonia
besieged by
Philip, and
rescued by a
Roman force.

camp. He himself meanwhile fortified and established a winter
camp, five miles from Hexapylon, in a place called Leon. Such
were the events which took place in Sicily up to the beginning
of the winter.

40. The same summer, too, a war which had been appre-
hended for some time broke out with king Philip. Envoys
came from Oricum to Marcus Valerius, the praetor who had
charge of the fleet off Brundisium and the neighbouring shores
of Calabria. They brought news, first, of an attempt made by
Philip on Apollonia, to which he had sailed up the river with a
hundred and twenty light two-oared vessels ; next, that, finding
success tardier than he had hoped, he had secretly by night
marched his army to, Oricum, which city, standing as it did in a
plain, without the defence of walls or of an armed garrison, had
been overpowered at the first assault. With these tidings they
coupled a prayer for aid, begging Valerius to defend by land
and sea, against one who was an undoubted enemy of Rome,
the cities on the coast, which were being threatened merely
because they commanded the shores of Italy. ■

Marcus Valerius, leaving a force on the spot with Publius
Valerius, his lieutenant, arrived the next day at Oricum with his
fleet fully equipped and prepared, such of his troops as his war-
ships could not receive having been put on board transport
vessels. After a single engagement he retook the town, which
was held by a small garrison left there by Philip on his depar-
ture. Envoys now came to him from Apollonia, to say that
they were being besieged because they would not revolt from
Rome, and that, unless a Roman force were sent, they could no
longer resist the Macedonian attack. Valerius promised that
he would do as they wished, and despatched ten thousand
picked troops in his war-ships to the mouth of the river underi
an officer of allies, Quintus Naevius Crista, an energetic and
experienced soldier. Having landed his men, and sent the
ships back to the fleet at Oricum, his starting-point, Crista led
his detachment along a road at a distance from the river, and
mostly free from the king's troops, and entered the city by
night, unperceived by any of the enemy. Next day the
remained quiet, while he was reviewing the youth of ApolloniJ
and the strength and resources of the city. These, when see

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 239

and examined, inspired him with sufficient courage, and having BOOK xxiv.

also ascertained from his scouts the extreme carelessness and

negligence of the enemy, he marched out of the town without

the slightest noise in the stillness of night, and entered the

enemy's camp, which was so unguarded and open that it was PhUifi'snrmy

generally understood that a thousand men had passed the

line before any one was aware of it. Had they refrained from

slaughter, they might, it was certain, have reached the royal

tent. The enemy was aroused by the slaughter of those who

were nearest to the camp gate ; then followed such universal

terror and panic that, so far from a single man seizing his arms

and endeavouring to drive the foe out of the camp, the king

himself fled half naked, just as he was on awakening from sleep,

and, in a plight hardly fit for a soldier, much less for a king. Flight of Philip.

hurried to the river and his ships. Thither too rushed wildly

the rest of the crowd. Somewhat less than three thousand

men were either made prisoners or slain in the camp, but more

were captured than killed.

When the camp had been plundered, the citizens of Apollonia

brought back to their city the catapults, ballistas, and other

I engines which had been provided for the siege of their town, to

I defend its walls in the event of any like subsequent emergency.

i All the rest of the booty was given up to the Romans. When

j the news reached Oricum, Marcus Valerius at once moved his

fleet to the mouth of the river, that it might not be possible for

'the king to make his escape on shipboard. Philip accordingly

ihaving no confidence that he would be a match for his foe in

[battle by land or sea, hauled his vessels ashore or burnt them,

land hurried back overland to Macedonia with an army for the

most part without arms or property. The Roman fleet wintered

with Marcus Valerius at Oricum.

41. The military operations of this year in Spain had no Operations in
Iccided result. Before the Romans could cross the Ebro, Mago
ind Hasdrubal routed an immense host of Spaniards. Spain
t of the Ebro would have revolted from Rome had not Scipio
[lidly pushed his army across the river, and arrived at the
ight moment, to confirm the wavering attachment of the allies.
Mrst,the Romans established themselves at White Camp, a spot
nade memorable by the fall of the great Hamilcar. It was

240

IJVY.

* Cazlona

BOOK xxiy. a fortified position, and stores of grain had there been pre-
viously collected. But, as the whole neighbourhood swarmed
with the enemy, whose cavalry had with impunity harassed the
Romans on their march, slaughtering as many as two thousand
loiterers or stragglers in the fields, the Romans retired towards
a quiet district, and fortified a camp at Mount Victory, Thither
came Cneius Scipio in full force, and Hasdrubal, too, the son
of Gisgo, making in all three Carthaginian generals, with an
army in all respects complete. All three now confronted the
Roman camp from the opposite side of the river. Publius
Scipio went out unobserved with some light troops to reconnoitre
the surrounding country, but he did not elude the enemy. He
would have been overpowered on open ground, had he not
seized a neighbouring eminence. There he was hemmed in,i
and released from blockade by his brother's arrival.

Castulo,* a powerful and famous Spanish town, and so
closely allied to the Carthaginians that Hannibal married
his wife from it, revolted to Rome. The Carthaginians at-
tempted to storm Illiturgis, as there was a Roman garrison in
the place, and it seemed that they would reduce it without fail
by famine. Cneius Scipio set out with a legion lightly equipped
to bring succour to his allies and to the garrison, and passing
between the enemy's two camps entered the city, inflicting on
them great loss. Next day he; fought thern in a sortie that was .
equally successful. In the two engagements more than twelve 1
thousand of the enemy were slain ; more than a thousand taken!
prisoners, with thirty-six standards. And so they retired from!'
Illiturgis. Then they began to besiege Bigerra, a city also in
alliance with Rome. Cneius Scipio came up and raised the^
blockade without fighting.

42. The Carthaginian camp was next moved to Munda,ani
thither the Romans instantly followed them. There was
pitched battle of four hours, and the Romans were winning
decisive victory when the signal for retreat was given, becaus(
Cneius Scipio had his thigh completely pierced by a javelin,
panic seized the soldiers round him who feared that the wound
might be mortal. But for this hindrance there was no question
that the Carthaginian camp would have been taken that day;
Their soldiers and their elephants too had already been driver

Battle at
Munda.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

241

into their intrenchments, close to which thirty-nine of the
elephants had been transfixed by the Roman darts. It is said
that in this battle too there fell upwards of twelve thousand
men, and that nearly three thousand were made prisoners, with
fifty-seven standards.

The Carthaginians then retired to the town of Aurinx, whither

the Romans pursued them, taking advantage of their terror.

There again Scipio engaged them, being borne into the battle on

a litter. It was an undoubted victory, though less by half fell of

the enemy than in the previous battle ; far fewer indeed surviving

to fight. But it is the nature of this people to renew and repair

the losses of war, and when Mago, the commander's brother,

had been despatched to raise recruits, they soon filled up the gaps

in their army, and recovering their courage ventured on a fresh

contest. They had for the most part new soldiers, but feeling

themselves on a side which within a few days had been so

repeatedly vanquished, they fought with the same spirit and

same result as before. More than eight thousand men were

I slain ; not less than a thousand made prisoners with fifty-eight

standards. The spoil taken was chiefly Gallic, a profusion of

|golden chains and bracelets. In this battle there also fell two

Irenowned Gallic chiefs, by name Moeniacoepto and Vismaro.

I'.i^^ht elephants were taken and three killed. Now that they had

Aon these successes in Spain, the Romans at last felt shame at

Ik town of Saguntum, which had occasioned the war, having

lecn for nearly eight years in the enemy's power. So they retook

Ik place, after forcibly expelling the Carthaginian garrison, and

ored it to such of the old inhabitants as the violence of

had spared. The Turdetani, who had involved them in

Dstilities with the Carthaginians, they reduced to subjection,

)ld them by public auction, and razed their city.

43. Such were the Roman operations in Spain during the
)nsulate of Quintus Fabius and Marcus Claudius. As soon
. new tribunes entered on their office at Rome, the censors,
iblius Furius and Marcus Atilius, were at once summoned by
icius Metellus, one of the tribunes, to appear before the
ular assembly. Metellus had been quaestor in the previous
.1", and had then been deprived by the censors of his horse,
1 noved from his tribe, and disfranchised, as having engaged at

BOOK XXIV.

The

Carthagin ians

are worsieJ, and

Jail back.

They are
f>7trsued, and
again defeated.

Defeated a
third time.

The Romans

recover
Saguntum.

The censors

threatened with

impeachment

before the '

commons.

242

LIVY.

Election of
consuls.

BOOK XXIV. Cannae into a conspirapy to abandon Italy. By the intervention
however, of the other nine tribunes, the trial of the defendants
while they were in office, was forbidden, and their case wa;
dismissed. They did not complete the census, Furius being
prevented by death, and Atilius retiring from office.

The consular elections were held by the consul Quintus
Fabius Maximus. Both consuls were elected in their absence
Quintus Fabius, the consul's son, and Tiberius Sempronius
Gracchus for the second time. The new praetors were Marcuj
Atilius, Publius Sempronius Tuditanus, Cneius Fulvius Cen-
tumalus, and Marcus ^milius Lepidus, of whom the three
last were at the time curule aediles. It is on record that that
year, for the first time, dramatic games lasting four days were
conducted by these officials. The aedile Tuditanus was the
man who escaped at Cannae through the midst of the enemy,
when others were stupefied at the magnitude of the disaster.
The elections over, the consuls elect were, at the advice of
the consul Quintus Fabius, summoned to Rome, and then
entered on office. The Senate was consulted by them as to
the war and the assignment of provinces to themselves and to;
the praetors, and as to the command of the armies.

44. A distribution was accordingly made of the province;
and armies. The war with Hannibal was intrusted to thui
consuls, with two armies, one of which Sempronius himself
already commanded, Fabius having the other. Each army cc
sisted of two legions. The praetor Marcus -^milius, who h^
the jurisdiction over aliens, was to assign it to his colleag
the city praetor, Marcus Atilius, and have the province
Luceria and the two legions which had been under the comman
of Quintus Fabius, the present consul, when praetor. To Publili
Sempronius and Cneius Fulvius fell, respectively, as their pr
vinces, Ariminum and Suessula, each having also two legion
Fabius was to command the city legions, and Tuditanus to havi
those of Manius Pomponius. Some commands and provinci;]
governorships were extended, Claudius retaining Sicily withi
the boundaries which limited Hiero's kingdom, while the old pr
vince was to be under Lentulus as pro-praetor. Titus Otacilii
had the fleet, to which no fresh troops were added. Marc
Valerius had Greece and Macedonia with the legion and fle^

B.C. 213.

Distribution of
tlie arinies.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 243

he commanded ; Ouintus Mucius with his old army, consisting BOOK xxiv.

of two legions, kept Sardinia. Caius Terentius retained the

legion already under his command, with Picenum. A vote was

carried to raise two additional city legions and twenty thousand

allies. Such were the generals, such the armies with which

Rome's empire was to be simultaneously defended against a

number of attacks, begun or threatened.

Having raised the two city legions and recruited others, the

consuls, before moving from Rome, expiated certain portents of Portents.

which they had received information. The city walls and gates,

and also a temple of Jupiter at Aricia had been struck by

lightning. Moreover some illusions of the eye and ear had

been taken for realities. The semblance of war ships, which

had no existence, had been seen on the river at Tarracina, and

I at the temple of Jupiter Vicilinus in the district of Compsa the

I clash of arms had been heard. The river at Amiternum too had

iflowed with blood. These portents having been expiated in

pbedience to a resolution of the pontiffs, the consuls took their

departure, Sempronius for Lucania, Fabius for Apulia. The

father entered the camp at Suessula as his son's lieutenant ; the

[ion went out to meet him preceded by the lictors who were

I Went out of respect for his high rank. The old man rode past

i fleven of these officers, upon which tlje consul bade the liclor at

;. lis side to mind his duty. The man shouted to the rider that he

y las to dismount, and then at last the father springing from his

, brse, exclaimed, " I wished to try you, my son, and see

I whether you really knew that you are a consul."

I 45. A native of Arpi, Dasius Altinius, entered the camp

ecretly by night with three slaves, and promised that for a

tward he would betray the town. Fabius having referred the Aitimus of Arpi

latter to a council, some were of opinion " that he ought to be tZpincIu^

Iscourged and executed as a deserter, a double-minded man, fabiits.

;ind consequently a common enemy. After the disaster of

( annas he had gone over to Hannibal and drawn Arpi into

olt, as if good faith ought to stand or fall with success.

w that Rome's power was, so to say, reviving, contrary to

1 hopes and wishes, it would seem still baser to pay back

th treachery the victims of treachery in times past. The

an who is perpetually changing his side and his sympathies,

^ R 2

244 IJVY.

BOOK XXIV. " is an unfaithful ally and a contemptible foe. Let him b(
" added to the betrayers of Falerii and of Pyrrhus, a thir(
" warning to all deserters."

To these arguments the consul's father, Fabius, replied
" Men under the excitement of war forget the necessities of th(
" time, and pronounce freely their judgment on each cas(
" exactly as if they were at peace. Although we ought abov(
" all things to strive and consider how, if possible, not a singl(
" ally may revolt from the Roman people, they do not in fac
" consider this, but contend for the duty of holding up as ;
" warning any one who may repent and look back with regre
" on the old alliance. If people are to be allowed to forsak
" Rome, but not to return to her, who can doubt that Rome'
" empire will soon be deserted by its allies, and will see ever
" part of Italy united by treaty to Carthage ? Still I am not th(
" man to think that we ought to put any faith in Altinius.
" would follow a middle course, and for the present take hin
" neither for a foe nor for an ally. I should like to see hin
" while the war lasts, kept in honourable custody near thi
" camp in some state which we can trust. The war over, wi
" must then consider whether punishment was the just due o
" his previous defection, or pardon that of his subsequen
" return."
„ . , Fabius won their assent. The man was put in chains, an

He ts made _ '■ '

prisoner on the both he and his Companions became prisoners. He had brou|^
"^Fabius. with him a very considerable weight of gold, and this by ©
press order was to be kept in reserve for him. At CalesJb
had his liberty during the day under the surveillance of ]
tendants ; by night he was in confinement under their wat
People began at first to miss him at his home at Arpi and
inquire after him ; soon rumours spread through the whole tc
and caused an uproar, men believing that they had lost their <
citizen. In the dread of a revolution envoys were insta
despatched to Hannibal. At this the Carthaginian was by 1
means displeased, for he had long held the man in suspicion^
one whose loyalty was doubtful, and now he had got a pret^
for seizing and selling the property of a particularly rich citiz|
But as he wished to seem to yield to anger rather than
avarice, he added cruelty to rapacity. He summoned to )l

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 245

camp the wife and children of Altinius, and having held an book xxiv.
inquiry, first into the circumstances of his flight, then into the His wife and
amount of gold and silver left in his house, and ascertained all '^^"^^ffj^ ^""^'^
these particulars, he burnt them alive. Hannibal.

46. Fabius quitted Suessula and first applied himself Pabius besieges

vigorously to the siege of Arpi. He encamped about half a '"" '" " ^^'"

mile from the city, and having taken a near view of the situation

of the city and its walls, he resolved to attack it by preference

where it was most strongly fortified, as being there most

carelessly guarded. Having provided everything used in

attacking towns, he picked out the flower of the centurions

from his entire army, putting them under the command of

tribunes, gallant officers all of them, and assigning them six

hundred soldiers, a sufficiently large force, as he judged. They

had orders from him to bring up scaling-ladders to the place

selected, as soon as the signal of the fourth night watch had

sounded. The gate there was low and narrow, leading to an

unfrequented street through a deserted part of the town. When

they had scaled the gate with their ladders, they were to hasten

'to the wall and forcibly break open the bars from the inside,

ind as soon as they were in possession of a portion of the town,

hey were to give a signal by trumpet for the rest of the army

o advance. Fabius assured them that he would have every-

hing prepared and ready.

All this was promptly done. What seemed likely to prove a

lindrance to the attempt mainly contributed to conceal it. A

torm which began at midnight drove the guards and sentries

) slip away from their post and seek shelter in the houses. At

1 St the loud sound of an unusually heavy rain drowned the

oibe of the men who were working at the gate ; afterwards,

hen it fell more softly and regularly on the ear, it lulled many

at heard it to slumber. As soon as the Romans had pos-

ssion of the gate, trumpeters were stationed at equal intervals

^•g the street and directed to sound a blast to give notice to

consul. This having been done, as already arranged, he

iered a general advance, and shortly before dawn entered the

' y through the gate that was broken down.

(.7. This at last awoke the enemy ; the storm too was now
ling, and day was breaking. Hannibal had a garrison in

246 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. the town of about five thousand men, and the citizens them-
selves had equipped three thousand soldiers. These were
the first set to oppose the enemy by the Carthaginians, who
feared treachery in their rear. The fight began in darkness
and in narrow streets, the Romans having occupied not only the
thoroughfares, but also the buildings which adjoined the gate,
to save themselves from being assailed and wounded from the
housetops. Some of the inhabitants and some of the Romans
recognised each other, and this gave rise to conversations in
which the Romans asked what the citizens wanted. " What
" offence had the Romans given them, or what had the Car-
" thaginians done for them that they, an Italian people, should be
" waging war for aliens and barbarians against their old allies, and
" endeavouring to make Italy pay taxes and tribute to Africa ? "
The people of Arpi excused themselves by saying that they had
been sold in utter ignorance by their chief citizens to the Car
thaginian ; that they had been, in fact, the prey and the victim^
of a few men. A beginning once made, many more took pari
in these conversations, till at last the governor of Arpi was con-
ducted by his fellow citizens to the consul ; pledges were giver,
amid the standards and the ranks, and the towns-peo
suddenly turned their arms against the Carthaginians in favc
of Rome. Some Spaniards too, to the number of little I
than a thousand, carried over their standards to the consi
simply bargaining with him for the dismissal of the Carth;
ginian garrison without injury. The city-gates were thro'
open for the Carthaginian soldiers, who were let go with
assurance of protection and reached Hannibal at Salapia ii
safety. Arpi was restored to the Romans without the destruc
tion of a single life but that of one man, a traitor long befort
and recently a deserter. Orders were given that the SpanisI
troops should be served with double rations, and the Stat
often availed itself of their brave and faithful service.

While one consul was in Apulia and the other in Lu(
a hundred and twelve noble , Campanian knights, wh^
started from Capua by permission of the ' magistrates
pretext of plundering the enemy' s territory, came to the
camp overlooking Suessula. They told a sentry who they
and said that they wished to have an interview with the praeto,

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 247

Cneius Fulvius was in command of the camp, and on his book xxiv.

receiving the message he ordered twelve out of their number to

be conducted thither, unarmed. When he heard their request

(they asked merely that on the recovery of Capua their property

might be restored to them), he received them all under his pro- Capture of

tection. The other praetor, Sempronius Tuditanus, stormed the temum.

town of Aternum,* in which more than seven thousand men * Pescara.

were made prisoners, and a considerable amount of copper and

silver coin- taken.

At Rome a dreadful fire lasted two nights and one entire ^i^e at Rome.
day. All between the Salinas and the Carmental gate, including
the ^quimaelian and Jugarian quarters, was levelled to the
ground. Within the temples of Fortune, of Mother Matula,
and of Hope, which are outside the gate, the fire spread widely,
and destroyed many objects, both sacred and profane.

48, The same year the two Cornelii, Publius and Cneius, Affairs in

being successful in Spain, where they recovered many old and

won some new allies, extended their designs to Africa. Syphax,

king of the Numidians, had suddenly become a foe to Carthage,

land to him they despatched three centurions as envoys, to Roman embassy

I negotiate a friendship and alliance. He was to be assured that, 0/ Num'idia.

I if he would persist inconstant hostility to Carthage, he would

I have the thanks of the Senate and people of Rome, who would

jmake an effort to repay his services at a seasonable moment

and with good interest. The barbarian prince welcomed the

tembassy. He had a conversation with the envoys on the science

bf war, and on hearing the talk of the veterans he perceived,

py comparing such a well-organised system with his own, how

many things there were of which he knew nothing. Then,

llesirous of having their aid as good and faithful allies, he first

)egged that " two of the envoys might report their negotiations

to their commanding officers, one remaining with him to be

his instructor in military matters. For his Numidian people

did not understand infantry fighting, and were skilful only

with their horses. It was with these that their forefathers

from the earliest beginnings of their nation had waged their

wars, and it was to these that Numidians were habituated

from boyhood. But he had an enemy who trusted to the

might of his infantry, and if he wished to be his match in

248 LIVY.

BOOK XXIV. " solid strength, he must provide himself with men on foot,
" and for this his kingdom had an abundant population. But
" of the science of arming, equipping, and drilling them he
" was utterly ignorant ; just as in a casually collected crowd,
"all was disorder and left to chance."

The envoys replied that they would do as he wished at the
present moment, and received a promise that, should their com-
mander not approve the result, the man was to be at once sent
back. Quintus Statorius was the name of the envoy who
stayed with the king. With the two Romans the Numidian
himself despatched envoys to put himself under the protection
of the Roman generals. He further gave these envoys instruc-
tions forthwith to encourage desertion among all Numidians
serving as auxiliaries in Carthaginian garrisons. Statorius, out
of the numerous youth of the country, raised a force of infantry
for the king. This he disciplined as nearly as possible in
Raman fashion, teaching the men by drill and by marching
them under arms to follow the standards and keep their ranks.
So thoroughly did he habituate them to camp-work and proper
military duties, that the king soon had as much confidence in
his infantry as in his cavalry, and he defeated his Carthagini
enemy in a regular action in which the armies met on levi
ground. To the Romans also in Spain the visit of the kin
envoys was of great service, as on the rumour of their arrivi
there began to be numerous desertions on the part of
Numidians. It was thus that a friendship was formed betwee;
Syphax becomes Syphax and the Romans. The Carthaginians, on hearing thi

" '^'^Romam!'" ^^ once despatched an embassy to Gala, a king who reigned i:
another part of Numidia, the inhabitants of which are calle^
Massyli.

Masinissa. 49- Gala had a son Masinissa, seventeen years of age, ye

a youth of such character that it was already evident that h«
would make his kingdom larger and more powerful thar
what he might have inherited. It was argued by the envoyi
" that, as Syphax had allied himself with Rome, to mak(
" himself more formidable to the kings and nations ol
"Africa, it would be better for Gala too to join the Cartha
"giniansas soon as possible, before Syphax could cross int
" Spain or the Romans into Africa. Syphax could be crushec

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

249 \

" while as yet he had nothing ftom his treaty with Rome except
" the name of it." Gala, as his son insisted on the war, was
easily persuaded to send an army, which, united to the legions
of Carthage, defeated Syphax in a great battle. Thirty
thousand men, it is said, fell in the action. Syphax fled from
the field with a few horsemen to the Maurusii, a remote tribe
dwelling near the ocean, opposite to Gades. His renown
gathered the barbarians round him from all parts, and he soon
equipped an immense host. But before he could cross with it
the narrow strait which parted him from Spain, Masinissa
arrived with his victorious army. There, without any aid from
Carthage, he carried on the war by himself with Syphax and
won great glory.

Nothing memorable took place in Spain except that the
Roman generals secured for themselves the services of the
Celtiberian youth on the same terms for which an arrangement
had been made with the Carthaginians. They also sent more
than three hundred Spaniards of the highest rank into Italy to
excite disaffection among such of their countrymen as were
serving among Hannibal's auxiliaries. The only event of the
year in Spain remarkable enough to be recorded is that the
Romans never had a single mercenary soldier in their camp till
they now had the Celtiberi.

BOOK xxi

His victory
over SyphaA

' Flight nf

Syphax from

Numidia.

The Romans

employ

mercenaries /or

the first time.

BOOK XXV.

B.C. 213, 212.

BOOK XXV. I. During these operations in Africa and Spain, Hannibal
Hannibal in the wasted the Summer in the country round Tarentum in the hope
"/^rarentum. of having the city betrayed into his hands. Meanwhile some
obscure towns of the Tarentines and Sallentines revolted to
him. At the same time in Bruttium out of twelve communities
which in the previous year had gone over to the Carthaginians,
two, Consentia and Thurii, returned to their loyalty to Rome.
And more would have returned, had not Pomponius Veientanus,
an officer of allies, who by some successful marauding ex-
peditions in Bruttian territory had come to be looked upon as
a regular commander, engaged Hanno with an army of hastily
levied recruits. A great multitude of men, no better however
than a disorderly rabble of rustics and slaves, were slain or
captured in the battle. The least part of our loss was that the
officer in command was captured along with the other prisoners,
a man who on this occasion provoked a rash fight, and wh(
previously, as a tax-farmer, had by all manner of evil practice
been unfaithful and injurious to the State and to the tax-farmin|
companies.

The consul Sempronius fought several small actions iJ
Lucania, but not one worth recording. He also took by stom
some obscure towns of the Lucanians. The longer the was
was protracted, while victory and defeat produced their varying
effect on the minds as well as on the fortunes of men, an in-
Supcstiiion tense superstition, for the most part of foreign origin, fastenec
at Rome. itself on the country, and it seemed that a sudden change hacj
passed over either mankind or the gods. It was not only irl

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

251

Its strange
effects.

The Senate
interfe7-es.

the secrecy of the private house that Roman ritual was dis- BOOK xxv.
used ; it was even in the public streets, in the forum and the
Capitol that there were crowds of women who in their sacrifices
and prayers to the gods departed from the customs of their
country. Sacrificers and soothsayers had enslaved men's un-
derstandings, and the number of their victims was swelled
by the rural population whom distress and terror drove into the
capital out of fields wasted by a long war and in hostile occupa-
tion. Profit was easily made out of the delusions of others,
and they sought it as if they were practising a recognised art.
First, whispers of indignation among honest men began to
be heard, and soon the matter came under the notice of the
Senators and attracted public remonstrance. The aediles and
commissioners of police were severely censured by the Senate
for not stopping the proceedings, but when they attempted to
expel the crowd from the forum and sweep away the sacrificial
preparations, they barely escaped outrage. When it was
evident that the evil was too mighty to be checked by the
inferior magistrates, Marcus Atilius, the city-praetor, was in-
trusted by the Senate with the duty of delivering the people
from these superstitions. He read the Senate's decree before a
popular assembly, and also issued a proclamation that " whoever
" possessed any prophetical books or prayers or a written form
" of sacrifice, was to bring to him all such books and writings
" before the first of April ; and that no one was to sacrifice in
" a public or sacred place according to any new or foreign
" ritual."

2. Several state-priests also died that year, among them,

Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, chief pontiff, Caius Papirius Maso,

I son of Caius Maso, pontiff, Furius Philus, augur, and Caius

Papirius Maso, son of Lucius Maso, one of the ten commis-

j sioners of sacred rites. The places of Lentulus and Papirius

jwere filled, respectively, by Marcus Cornelius Cethegus and

iCneius Servilius Caspio ; Lucius Quinctius Flaminius was ap-

nted augur, and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus to the commis-

n of ten. The time was now at hand for the election of

consuls ; but, as it did not seem well to withdraw the consuls

from the war with which they were occupied, the consul Tiberius

jSempronius nominated, for the holding of the elections, Caius

Neiu consuls.

252 LIVY.

ROOK XXV. Claudius Cento, dictator, who made Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
master of the horse. On the first lawful day the dictator
appointed as consuls Flaccus, master of the horse, and Appius
Claudius Pulcher, who as prsetor had had the province of Sicily.
Cneius Fulvius Flaccus, Caius Claudius Nero, Marcus Junius
Silanus and Publius Cornelius Sulla were then elected prsetors.
The election over, the dictator quitted office.

Cornelius Scij>io That year Publius Cornelius Scipio, afterwards surnamed

election ofiiZed Africanus, was curule aedile with Marcus Cornelius Cethegus.

by the tribunes. When he was Standing for the asdileship, he was opposed by
the tribunes of the people, who said that no account ought to
be taken of him, as he was not yet of the legal age required in
a candidate. Scipio's rejoinder was, " If all the citizens of
" Rome wish to elect me aedile, my years are sufficient." Upon
this the people hurried with such enthusiasm to vote in their
different tribes that the tribunes at once relinquished their
attempt. The munificence of the aediles consisted in a mag-

Ceiehration of i^ificent Celebration, considering the resources of the period, of
tiie Roman ^^ Roman games, which were repeated for one day, and in a

games with ....

great splendour, distribution of olivc oil in each street, to the amount of a
* Three quarts, congius.* The plebeian asdiles, Lucius Villius Tappulus and
Marcus Fundanius Fundulus, prosecuted some married women
before the commons for unchastity. Several of them were
condemned and exiled. There \yas a celebration of the plebeian
games, and these were repeated for two days, and a festival in
honour of Jupiter, on occasion of the games.
B.C. 212. 3- Quintus Fulvius Flaccus and Appius Claudius entered on

the consulate, the former for his third time. The praetors, too,
had their provinces allotted to them ; Publius Cornelius Sulla
having the home and foreign jurisdiction, which previously had
been shared between two, while Fulvius Flaccus, Caius Claudius ;
Nero, and Marcus Junius Silanus had, respectively, Apulia,
Distribution of Suessula and Etruria. To the consuls was assigned the war
^^il^^ZT"' with Hannibal, each having two legions, which one was to
receive from Quintus Fulvius, the consul of the preceding year,
the other from Fulvius Centumalus. Of the prsetors, Flaccus^
was to have the legion in Luceria under ./Cmilius, and Ner
those in Picenum under Terentius, and each praetor was hir
self to raise recruits for them. Marcus Junius had for a checl

armies.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

253

on Etruria the city-legions levied the year before. Tiberius
Sempronius Gracchus and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus had
their commands in the provinces of Lucania and Gaul with
their armies continued to them, and the same with Lentulus
in that part of Sicily which was the old province ; Marcus
Marcellus had Syracuse and what had been the kingdom of
Hiero; Otacilius had the fleet ; Marcus Valerius, Mucins Scaevola
and the two Cornelii, Publius and Cneius, had, respectively,
Greece, Sardinia, and Spain. In addition to the old armies,
two city-legions were raised by the consuls, making up a total
of twenty- three legions for that year.

The act of one Marcus Postumius Pyrgensis, all but re-
sulting in a serious shock to the State, retarded the recruiting
work of the consuls. Postumius was a tax-farmer, who for
many years had had no rival at Rome in fraud and rapacity
with the sole exception of Pomponius Veientanus, the man
who, when heedlessly plundering Lucanian territory, was cap-
tured the preceding year by the Carthaginians under Hanno.
Speculating on the public risk from storms in respect of the
supplies sent to the armies, these two men had invented stories
j of shipwrecks. Even the losses which they had truly reported
had been occasioned by their own dishonesty, not by mis-
1 hap. They had put a few things of small value on board
old and broken vessels, which they sank at sea, the sailors
being rescued in boats ready provided, and then falsely declared
: that the cargo was many times greater. Information of the
1 fraud had been given in the previous year to the praetor Marcus
I Atilius, who had reported it to the Senate. It had not however
been formally censured by any resolution of the Senate, as the
I Senators did not wish at such a crisis to have the tax-farming
1 class irritated. The commons were more sternly resolved to
I punish the fraud. Two of their tribunes, Spurius and Lucius
Carvilius, perceiving what an odious and shameful business it
v\ IS, were at last roused to propose a fine of two hundred
thousand pounds of copper on Postumius. When the day came
tor debating it, and there was an assembly of the commons so
crowded that its numbers could hardly be contained within the
iopen space of the Capitol, it seemed after the case had been
heard that the only hope for the man was the possibility that

BOOK XXV.

Twenty-three
legions in all-

Fraud of a
tax-farmer.

Debate in an
assembly of the
commons about

punishment.

254

LIVY.

Ka^e of the
tax-farmers.

BOOK XXV. Caius Servilius Casca, one of the tribunes of the people, who
was a near relative of Postumius, might interpose his veto,
before the tribes were summoned to vote. When the evidence
had been given, the tribunes cleared the assembly, and the
voting-urn was brought in, to determine the order in which the
enfranchised Latins were to vote. Meanwhile the tax-farmers
kept urging Casca to stop public business for that day. The
commons protested. Casca, with both fear and shame working
on his mind, happened to be sitting in the front at one of the
angles of the hustings. Finding that there was little help to be
got from him, the tax-farmers, to disturb the proceedings, rushed
in a compact body through the empty space from which the
people had been cleared, angrily upbraiding both commons
and tribunes. Matters seemed likely to end in violence,
when Fulvius, the consul, said to the tribunes, " Do you not
" see that you are reduced to the level of ordinary citizens^
" and that things have come to the verge of insurrec-,
" tion, unless you promptly dismiss the assembly of th
" commons ? "

4. The commons were dismissed, the Senate summonb
and a motion brought forward by the consuls on this violen!
disturbance of the popular assembly and the audacious conduci
of the tax-farmers. " Marcus Furius Camillus," it was urge
" a man whose exile was followed by the downfall of Rome,
" had allowed himself to be condemned by his angry fellow-
" countrymen. The decemvirs before him, under whose laws,
" they lived to that day, and many leading men of the State afterj
" their time had submitted to a judgment of the commons.
" Postumius Pyrgensis had wrested from the Roman people
"their voting-rights, had abruptly terminated their assembly,
" had reduced tribunes to ordinary citizens, had arrayed an
" army against the Roman people, had seized a position with
" the object of cutting off the tribunes from the commons and
"of hindering the tribes from being summoned to the poll..
" Nothing had kept men from a bloody conflict but the for-
" bearance of the magistrates in having yielded at the moment
"to the fury and audacity of a few, in having allowed them-
" selves and the Roman people to be conquered, last, in havim
"terminated of their own free will the elections which thf

Debate in tlie
Senate .

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 255

" accused man was about to stop by force of arms, so that not book xxv.
" a pretext was given to those who sought a conflict."

Every man of high character urged these arguments as
forcibly as so monstrous an affair required, and the Senate
decided that the proceeding was a pubhc offence, and of most
injurious precedent. Upon this the two Carvilii, the tribunes,
at once dropped all debate about a fine and indicted Postumius
on a capital charge. Unless he could find bail, he was by their
order to be arrested by the officer and thrown into prison, punishment 0/
Postumius found bail and did not appear. The tribunes put ^^e "'■'■P'^^t f.^^^

'^^ '^ his accomplices.

the matter to the commons, and the commons thus decided :
" If Postumius does not appear before the first of May, and
■'when summoned does not answer to his name on that day,
" and has no excuse to plead, we regard him as being in exile,
"and we will that his property be sold and he himself be
" outlawed." The tribunes next proceeded to indict on a
capital charge various persons who had been promoters of the
riot and disturbance, and to require bail. At first those who
did not find it, and then those who could find it, were thrown
into prison. Many went away into exile to avoid the danger of
this penalty.

5. Such was the result of the frauds of the tax-farmers and
I of the audacity which strove to screen them. An election was Election of a
then held to appoint a supreme pontiff. It was conducted by a supreme pontiff.
newly elected pontiff, Marcus Cornelius Cethegus. There was
a very sharp contest between three candidates ; Quintus Fulvius
Flaccus, the consul, who previously had been twice consul and
Icensor ; Titus Manlius Torquatus, also distinguished by two
consulates and the censorship; lastly, Publius Licinius Crassus,
iwho was likewise about to stand for the aedileship. Young as
',he was, Crassus prevailed over his rivals, notwithstanding their
lage and distinctions. For a hundred and twenty years before
his time no one but Publius Cornelius Calussa had been
plected supreme pontiff without having sat in a curule chair.
The consuls finding it difficult to complete the levy, as

1 , ^ , , , , r^ , , , r Difficulty in

ne scanty number of the youth barely sufficed both to form raisingfresh
|he new city-legions and to recruit the old, the Senate for- tioops
'>ade them to relinquish the attempt, and directed the ap-
pointment of two boards of three commissioners. One of

256 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. these boards was to pass under review the total number of
freeborn men in all districts and in all market and assize-towns
within fifty miles of Rome ; the other, in all such places beyond
that distance. They were to make a soldier of everybody who
seemed to have strength sufficient to bear arms, even if he were
not of military age. The tribunes of the commons, if they
thought fit, were to be free to propose that pay should be given on
the same scale to those who had taken the oath at a less age
than seventeen, as if they had become soldiers when upwards of
seventeen or even older. In accordance with this resolution of
the Senate two boards of commissioners were elected, and
raised recruits from all freeborn men throughout the country
districts.

At the same time a despatch from Marcellus in Sicily,
about certain demands of the soldiers who were serving with
Publius Lentulus, was read in the Senate. These troops were
the relics of the defeat at Cannae, and had been sent away to
Sicily, as before related, on the understanding that they
were not to be brought back to Italy till the end of the
Punic war.

6. By the permission of Lentulus the principal cavalr

officers and centurions of this army, with the best of tl

Envoys to legionary infantry, sent envoys to Marcellus in his winte

IJutrvopsof" quarters. One of these envoys, being permitted to speak, saidj

Lentulus. T/ieir « ^^^ should have come to you in Italy, Marcus Marcellus, whe;

request. j j i j

" you were made consul, the moment that a harsh, not to say
" unjust, resolution of the Senate was passed respecting us, bu
" we hoped that we were being sent to a province which th«
" extinction of its royal family had disorganised, to fight ir
" earnest against both Sicilians and Carthaginians. We hopedi
" too, by our blood and wounds to atone to the Senate for the pastJ
"just as within the memory of our fathers the captives taken byl
" Pyrrhus atoned by fighting against Pyrrhus himself. And yetj
" Senators, what have we done to have deserved your anger]
" then, or to deserve it now ? I feel that I am looking on botl?
"the consuls and on the whole Senate when I look on you
*' Marcus Marcellus, for had we had you as our consul at Canns
" far better had been the plight both of the State and o
" ourselves.

Jk\

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 257

" Let me, I pray you, clear our army of the guilt with which BOOK xxv.

" we are charged, before I complain of our present condition.

" If we were undone at Cannae, not by the wrath of heaven,

" not by that destiny whose law binds all things human in a

" fixed order, but through some misconduct, whose misconduct,

" I ask, was it .'' That of the soldiers or of the generals ? As a

" soldier I will myself never say a word about my commander,

" knowing as I do that he was specially thanked by the Senate

" for not having despaired of the State, and received an exten-

" sion of his command for all his future years after his flight

" from Cannae. And the other survivors of that disaster, whom

" we had as officers, are, we have heard, seeking or holding posts

'■ of honour and governing provinces. Do you thus readily

" make allowance for yourselves. Senators, and for your children,

" while for poor wretches like us you have no pity ? Was it no

" disgrace for a consul and other men of rank to fly, when flight

" was their only hope ; was it only common soldiers that you

" sent to a certain doom in the battle-field ? At Allia almost a

" whole army fled. At the Caudine Forks, without so much as

" an attempt at fighting, our troops surrendered their arms to

" the enemy. I say nothing of other shameful defeats of our

" armies. Still, so far were those armies from having any

1" disgrace fixed on them, that Rome was recovered by the very

' army which had fled from Allia to Veii, and those legions of

the Caudine Forks which had returned to Rome without their

arms were sent back into Samnium and passed under the

I' yoke that same enemy who had exulted in inflicting on them

that same dishonour. And can indeed the army of Cannae

charged by any man with flight and panic, when there fell

I lore than fifty thousand men, an army from which the consul

escaped with seventy troopers, an army of which none survive

Init such as were left by an enemy weary with slaughter ?

When ransom was refused to the captives, we were universally

l^raised for having reserved ourselves for our country, for

having returned to the consul at Venusia, and created the

appearance of a regular army.

" As it is, we are in a worse plight than prisoners were with
I'ur forefathers. They suffered a change only of arms, of
military rank, of the place where they were quartered in camp,

s

258 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. ■' and all was recovered by them when once they had rendered
" a service to the State and fought one successful battle. Not
" one of them was sent into exile ; not one lost the prospect of
" obtaining in due time his discharge ; sooner or later they could
" face an enemy, and end life or disgrace for ever in fighting
" him. We, against whom nothing can be said but that it was
" our fault that a single Roman soldier survived from the field of
" Cannse, we have been banished far away from our homes in
" Italy, and, what is more, from the very sight of an enemy.
" We are to grow old in exile, that we may have no hope, no
" opportunity of wiping out our disgrace, of appeasing the
" wrath of the citizens, or, finally, of dying with honour. We
" are not asking an end of our ignominy or a reward of our
" valour ; merely, that we may be allowed to test our spirit and
" put our valour into action. Hardship and danger are what
" we seek, that we may do the work of men and of soldiers.
" It is now the second year of the war in Sicily, which is being
" waged with a tremendous struggle. Some cities the Cartha-
■ " ginians, some the Romans, are storming ; infantry and cavalry
" are meeting in the shock of battle ; at Syracuse the conflict
" rages on sea and land. We hear the shouts of the combatants
" and the din of arms, while we ourselves sit in idleness, as if
" we had neither hands nor weapons. Legions made up of slaves
" under the consul Tiberius Sempronius have repeatedly fought
" pitched battles with the enemy. They have the reward of
" their service, freedom and citizenship. Count us at least as
" slaves who have been purchased for this war. Suffer us to
" encounter the foe, and to earn freedom by fighting. Do you
" wish to test our valour on sea, on land, on the battle-field, or
" in the siege of cities ? All that is worst in toil and peril we
" earnestly beg for ourselves, that what should have been done
" at Cannae may be done as soon as may be now. For all our
" life since that day has been doomed to disgrace."

7. Having- thus spoken they fell at the knees of Marcellus.]

Marcellus refers ' ° .,.,...,.. k

them to the He replied that the matter was, not withm his jurisdiction or|
power ; he would write to the Senate and act wholly according!
to their decision. His letter was received by the new consuls}
and read out by them before the Senate. After deliberation on]
the subject of the despatch the Senate thus decided :

Senate.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

259

Storms and
portents.

" They could not at all see why the State should be intrusted book xxv.
" to the soldiers who had deserted their comrades when fighting Decision 0/ the
" at Cannae. If Marcellus, the pro-consul, thought otherwise,
" let him act as the public good and his own loyalty might
" seem to demand. Only, not one of those soldiers must be
" exempt from any military duty, or receive a military reward
" for his valour, or be brought back to Italy, as long as the
" enemy was in the country."

Elections were then held by the city-prsetor in obedience to
a resolution of the Senate and a vote of the Commons, and in
these were appointed five commissioners for the repair of the
walls and towers, and two boards of three commissioners each,
one of which was to collect carefully all things sacred, and
register all votive offerings, the other to rebuild the temples of
Fortune and of Mother Matuta within the Carmental Gate, and
the temple of Hope without, which in the previous year had
been destroyed by fire.

Hideous storms occurred. On the Alban Mount there was

a continuous rain of stones for two days. Several places were

struck by lightning, two temples on the Capitol, the intrench-

ments of the camp at several points overlooking Suessula, and

two sentries were killed. The walls at Cumae and some towns

', were not merely struck by lightning, but were thrown down.

lAt Reate a huge stone appeared to fly; the sun was unusually

Ired and like blood. In consideration of these portents there

Iwas one day of public prayer, and for several days the consuls

Igave their attention to matters of religion, during which same

. lime there was a nine days' religious service.

' I That Tarentum might revolt had long been a matter of hope

!o Hannibal, and of apprehension to the Romans, and now an

opportunity of hastening it from without chanced to present

tself One Phileas, a Tarentine, who had been a long time at

liome under the pretext of being an envoy, a man of a restless

'imper which ill brooked the tedious idleness in which he saw

imself growing old, found means of access to the hostages

om Tarentum. They were detained in custody in the Hall of

iberty under a somewhat careless watch, as it was neither for

icir own interest nor for that of their community to play the

omans false. Having tempted them in a series of interviews

s 1

25o LIVY.

BOOK XXV. and bribed the warders of the Hall, Phileas got them out oi
The Tarentinc their Confinement in the first darkness of night, and becoming

hostages at ,^, . r t ■ ■ rt ■> r X-.

Kotne attempt to himsclf the Companion of their secret journey fled from Rome.

arrested and '/lit ^^ daybreak their escape was known over the whole city. Men

to death. vvere sent in pursuit, who arrested them at Tarracina and brought

them back. They were taken to the place of public assembly,

scourged, and then thrown from the Rock, with the full assent

of the people.

^ ^. , 8. The cruelty of this punishment stirred the anger of the

Conspiracy at j r o

Tarentum to two noblest Greek communities in Italy. It was felt not only
Rome. publicly, but privately, in fact by all who were connected by
kindred or friendship with those who had been so foully destroyed.
Among these were about thirteen young nobles of Tarentum,
who now, led by two men, Nico and Philemenus, conspired
together. Before attempting anything, they thought it well to
communicate with Hannibal, and having left the city by night
on the pretext of a hunting expedition they started to go to him.
When they were not far from his camp, all but Nico and
Philemenus hid themselves in a wood near the road ; these two
went on to the sentries, by whom they were arrested, the very
thing they themselves desired, and were conducted into
Hannibal's presence. They explained the reasons of their
action and what they proposed to do ; Hannibal praised them
warmly, loaded them with promises, suggested that, to convince
their fellow-townsmen that they had really come out for plunder,
they should drive to the city the Carthaginian herds sent out to
pasture. They might do this, they were assured, in safety,
without any fighting. People saw the plunder carried off by
the young men, and wondered less and less at the repetition ol^
their daring act. In a second interview with Hannibal they bound|
him by a promise that the Tarentines, remaining free, shoulM
retain their own laws and all which belonged to them, that thew
should pay no tax to the Carthaginian, or admit a garrison againsJ
their will; that all supplies furnished to the garrison shouljj
be at Carthaginian disposal. Snch was the understanding, ancf
then Philemenus made his practice of leaving the city at nighl
and returning to it still more frequent. He was also noted fol
his devotion to hunting, and had his dogs with him with everl
preparation for the chase. He mostly took something^J

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

261

Hanm
advances on
Tarentuiii.

carried it off from the enemy according to the arrangement, and book xxv.

this he would give to the officer of the garrison or to the sentries

at the gates. They thought that he went to and fro chiefly by

night from fear of the foe. When the affair became so habitual

that at whatever time of the night he gave a signal by whistling,

the gate was opened, Hannibal decided that it was time to act.

He was three days' march distant, and pretended that he was

ill, to lessen the surprise at his having his camp so long in one

and the same place. The Romans in garrison at Tarentum had

by this time ceased to regard with suspicion his inaction and

delay.

9. Having decided to march on Tarentum, he picked out

ten thousand infantry and cavalry, whose nimbleness of frame

and lightness of accoutrements specially fitted them, as he

thought, for the expedition, and then moved his camp. About

eight hundred Numidian troopers were sent on in advance, with

orders to scour the neighbouring roads, and examine every

point, that none of the rustic population might observe unseen

the march of his army. All who were in front of them were

to be forcibly brought back ; all whom they met were to be cut

down, that to the inhabitants of the district they might have the

appearance of a marauding band rather than of a military

j force. Hannibal himself, making a forced march, encamped

I about fifteen miles from Tarentum. Without so much as telling

jhis men where they were going, he called them together and

iraerely bade them march straight forward, allowing no one to

Iturn aside or to break his rank ; above all things, they were to

await orders with the keenest attention. Nothing was to be

jdone but by the direction of their officers, and at the right

imoment he would plainly state what he wished to accomplish.

I At nearly the same hour a rumour had reached Tarentum

hat a few Numidian horsemen were ravaging the country and

lad spread panic far and wide among the country folk. These

i dings simply moved the Roman commander to order a detach-

lent of his cavalry to sally forth next day at dawn and stop the

nemy's ravages. For anything beyond, so slack was his

igilance in the matter that this rapid advance of the Numidians

■as actually taken as a proof that Hannibal and his army had

)t stirred out of their camp. At dead of night he moved.

262

LIVY.

BOOK XXV. with Philemenus for his guide, who had his usual load of what
he had taken in the chase. The rest of the traitors meanwhile
awaited the moment on which they had agreed. The under-
standing had been that Philemenus, as he brought in his spoils
from the hunting-field at the usual little gate, was to admit some
armed meft, while Hannibal was to advance from another quarter
on the Temenid gate. This, from the interior, looked eastwards,
by the tombs which stand inside the walls. As Hannibal
approached the gate, he lit up, by previous arrangement, a fire
which blazed brightly. The same signal was returned by Nico,
and then the flame on both sides was extinguished. In silence
he marched his men to the gate. Nico suddenly fell on the
sleeping sentries, slew them in their beds, and threw open the
gate, upon which Hannibal entered with his infantry, his cavalry
having been ordered to halt, ready to meet the enemy in the open
plain, where circumstances might require.

Philemenus meantime on the other side was drawing near
the little gate by which he had been wont to pass to and fro.
His well-known voice and the now familiar signal roused the
sentry; and the postern was opened to him as he exclaimed
that he was struggling under the weight of an enormous beast.
Two youths were bearing in a wild boar, and he himself followed
with a lightly-equipped huntsman ; as the sentry in astonishment
at its size turned, without a thought, towards the bearers, he ran
the man through with a hunting-spear. Thereupon about thirty
armed men entered, cut down the rest of the sentries, and burst
open the nearest gate. Instantly the army in regular array
rushed in ; the soldiers were quietly marched to the forum and
joined Hannibal, who, taking two thousand Gauls in three divi-
sions, bade his Tarentine confederates disperse themselves i
through the city, and secure the most frequented thorough-
fares. As soon as disturbances began, the Romans were j
to be indiscriminately slaughtered, and the townsfolk spared. '
To render this last possible, Hannibal directed the young
Tarentines to bid any of their fellow-citizens whom they might ,
see at a distance remain quiet and silent, and fear nothing. I

lo. All was now tumult and uproar, such as is usual at the
storm of a city, but what the occasion was, no one knew for
certain. The Tarentines thought that the Romans had suddenly

He sets

possession of

the city.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

263

rushed out to pillage the town. The Romans imagined that the
townspeople had excited a riot with some treacherous design.
The officer of the garrison who had been roused from sleep at
the first beginning of the tumult fled to the harbour ; there
getting into a light boat, he was carried round to the citadel.
Alarm too was caused by the notes of a trumpet heard from the
theatre ; for it was a Roman trumpet which the traitors had
provided for this purpose, and being blown unskilfully by a
Greek it rendered it uncertain who was giving the signal or for
whom it was meant. At daybreak the Romans recognised the
Carthaginian and Gallic arms, and felt no more doubt, while the
Greeks, seeing the Romans lie slaughtered everywhere, knew
that Hannibal had taken the city.

As the light grew'clearer, such Romans as had survived the
massacre having sought refuge in the citadel, and the tumult
gradually subsiding, Hannibal ordered the Tarentines to as-
semble unarmed. All came but those who had retired into the
citadel, following the Romans to share with them their fate,
whatever it might be. Hannibal then spoke graciously to the
Tarentines, and appealed to his treatment of those of their
fellow-citizens whom he had taken prisoners at Trasumennus
or at Cannas. He inveighed at the same time against the
arrogant rule of the Romans, and bade every man go back to
his home and inscribe his name on his door. Any house not so
inscribed, he declared, he would at a given signal instantly order
to be plundered. He would hold as an enemy any person who,
j lodging with a Roman citizen (the Romans occupied separate
I houses), should thus inscribe his name. The assembly was then
Idismissed, and the doors having been marked with notices
.distinguishing between friendly and hostile houses, there was a
wild rush to plunder the quarters in which the Romans lodged,
md the spoil was considerable.

II. Next day Hannibal marched his men to an attack on
he citadel. But the sea, as he perceived, which washed the
;reater part of it like a peninsula, and exceedingly high cliffs,
vith a wall and fosse fencing it off from the town, were defences
endering it impregnable alike to assault or to siege works. He
esolved, therefore, to cut off communication between the town
nd the citadel by intrenchments. Thus the charge of pro-

BOOK XXV.

Tliose 0/ the

Romans who

escape take

refuse in the

citadel.

'Hannibal

prepares to

assault the ,

citadel.

264 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. tecting the Tarentines would not detain him from matters of
more importance, and, as he left them with a strong garrison,
the Romans would not be able to attack them from the citadel
whenever they chose. Nor was he without the hope of a chance
of fighting the Romans, should they attempt to stop the work,
or, should they venture on a desperate sortie, of inflicting on
them such loss as should so weaken the garrison that the
Tarentines would be easily able to defend their city by
themselves.

As soon as the work was begun, one of the gates was sud-
denly thrown open, and the Romans made an attack on the
intrenching parties. A picquet on guard in front of the lines
allowed itself to be driven in, that the enemy, growing bolder
with success, might pursue them as they fell back in greater force
and to a greater distance. Then at a given signal there was a
rush on all sides of the Carthaginian soldiers whom Hannibal
had held back in full readiness for the purpose. The Romans
could not sustain the charge, but the narrow space, entangled
as it was, partly by the works already begun, partly by prepara-
tions for works, obstructed them in their hasty flight. Very
many flung themselves into the fosse, and more were slain in
the flight than in the engagement. The work was then begun
afresh without any opposition. A vast fosse was drawn and
intrenchments thrown up on its inner side ; at a moderate
distance from this and in the same direction, Hannibal pre-
pared to add a wall, so that the citizens might be able to defend
themselves against the Romans even without his aid. Still, he
left a small force to help them also in building the wall, while he
marched himself with the rest of his army to the river Galaesus,
five miles from the city, and there encamped.

On his return from this position to inspect the work, which
had made considerably more rapid progress than he had ex'
pected, he conceived a hope that the citadel might be stormed
It was not, like all other citadels, protected by its height, but it
stood on level ground, and was merely separated from the town
by a wall and a fosse. While the attack was being pressed
with every variety of engines and siege-works, reinforcements
despatched from Metapontum gave the Romans encourage
ment to sally out suddenly by night on the enemy's lines. Part

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 265

they shattered down, part they destroyed by fire, and this ended BOOK xxv.

ilure of
attack.

Hannibal's assault on that side His remaining hope lay in Failure 0/ hi.

a blockade, but this could not be thoroughly effectual, as the
occupants of the citadel, which stood on a peninsula and com-
manded the entrance of the harbour, had the freedom of the
sea, while the town, on the other hand, was cut off from all
maritime communication, and so the besiegers were more in
danger of famine than the besieged.

Hannibal summoned a meeting of the principal Tarentine He consuHswitit.
citizens, and explained to them all the difficulties that beset him. ''' '*''''" ""^^'
He saw no way of storming such a strongly fortified citadel, and
he had no hojje from a blockade as long as the enemy had
possession of the sea. If he had ships, with which to stop the
import of supplies, the enemy would at once either retire or sur-
render. The Tarentines concurred, but they maintained that he
who gave the advice must help towards carrying it into effect.
" Carthaginian ships," they said, " brought up from Sicily could
"do this. As for their own, shut in as they were within a
" confined bay, while the enemy held the entrance to the
" harbour, in what possible manner could they escape into the
"open sea?" To this Hannibal replied : "Escape they shall.
" Many things which nature surrounds with impediments are
" quite easy to accomplish by forethought. You have a city
, " situated in a plain ; you have level and sufficiently broad
" streets opening in all directions. Along the street which leads
1 " through the middle of the city to the harbour down to the sea
I " I will convey vessels of comparatively small size on waggons,
I " and the sea, which is now in the enemy's power, shall be ours.
I" We will then blockade the citadel on that side by sea, on this
■ " by land, and without a doubt we shall take it, either abandoned
'" by the enemy, or with the enemy within it."

This speech excited not only hopes of success, but also the

jhighest admiration of the 'general. Forthwith waggons were

ibrought from all parts and joined together ; machines were

applied to the hauling ashore of vessels, and a road prepared

ilong which the waggons might roll more easily, that there

night be the less difficulty in the passage. And then beasts of

nuden and men were procured, and the work promptly begun.

n a few days a fleet was equipped and prepared, which sailed

266 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. round to the citadel and cast anchor at the very mouth of the

harbour. Such was the state of affairs which Hannibal left

behind him at Tarentum, when he returned himself into his

winter quarters. Authors, however, contradict each other on the

The citadel is point whether it was in this or in the previous year that the revolt

^^andfatd^ and °^ ^^ TaVentines occurred. Most, and those who lived nearest

Hannibal the Hving tradition of the events, relate that it took place in

returns into .

winter quarters. thlS year.

12. Up to the twenty-seventh day of April the consuls and
praetors were detained at Rome by the Latin festival. That day
the sacred rites were completed on the Alban Mount and they
started for their respective provinces. Afresh religious obstacle
Prophecies of then stood in their way, based on the prophecies of a certain
one Marnus. Marcius. This Marcius had been a famous prophetic bard,
and when search had been made in the previous year for all
such books by direction of a decree of the Senate, they had
passed into the hands of Marcus Atilius, the city praetor, who
had the management of the business. He at once handed them
over to Sulla, the new praetor. Of two prophecies of this
Marcius, one which was published after the event gained with
the fulfilment an authority which lent credit to the other, the
time for which had not yet arrived. He first predicted the
defeat of Cannae almost in these words : " Troy-descended |
" Roman, avoid the Canna. Let not aliens force thee to joinj
" battle in the plain of Diomed. But thou wilt not believe mei
" till thou hast filled the plain with thy blood, till the river carryi
" many slaughtered thousands of thine into the great sea from^
" the fruit-bearing land, till to the fishes and to the birds and'
"wild beasts that dwell in the earth thy flesh has become food.i
" For thus has Jupiter declared to me." The plain of the Argivej
Diomed and the river Canna, alike with the disaster itself, were
recognised by all who had served as soldiers in those parts.

The second prophecy was then read out, not only more obscure
than the preceding, because the future is more uncertain than
the past, but likewise more perplexing from its style : " Romans.
" if ye are minded to drive out the foe and the plague which
" comes from nations afar, I hold that ye must vow games t
" Apollo, which every year in a willing spirit may be celebrate
" to Apollo, the people giving part of the cost out of the publi

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

267

" purse, and private citizens contributing for themselves and
" their famihes. Over the celebration of these games shall
" preside the prEetor, who shall have to administer supreme
" justice to the people and the commons. Let ten men offer
" sacrifice with victims after Greek ritual. If ye shall do this,
" ye shall rejoice evermore, and your state shall become more
" prosperous ; for the god (Apollo) shall destroy your foes, who
'' eat up your fields in peace."

For the interpretation of this prophecy they took one day.
On the following the Senate passed a resolution appointing ten
commissioners to examine the sacred books with reference to the
celebration of games and sacrifices to Apollo. The matter
having been investigated and a report made to the Senate, it was
decreed that " games were to be vowed and celebrated to Apollo ;
" that after their celebration twelve thousand pounds of brass
" were to be given to the praetor for offering sacrifice, with two
" greater victims." Another resolution was also passed. " Ten
" men were to sacrifice according to Greek ritual and with the
" same victims ; to Apollo, a bull with gilded horns and two
" white goats with gilded horns ; to Latona, a cow with gilded
" horns." The praetor, as he was about to celebrate the games in
the Circus Maximus, issued a proclamation that the people,
during the games, were to contribute gffts to Apollo, as much as
' might be convenient. Such is the origin of the Apollinarian
games, which were vowed and celebrated with a view to victory,
jand not, as many think, to the public health. The people wore
jgarlands while witnessing them ; the matrons offered prayers ;
•everywhere there was feasting in public, with open doors,
land the day was honoured with every variety of religious
ceremony.

13. While Hannibal was in the neighbourhood of Tarentum

and the two consuls in Samnium, purposing however, as it

ueemed, to besiege Capua, the Campanian population, having

peen prevented by the Roman armies from sowing their

jrops, began to feel the famine which is the usual misery of a long

blockade. So they sent envoys to Hannibal begging him to

ive orders for the conveyance of corn from the neighbouring

ountry to Capua, before the Roman consuls led the legions into

leir territories and all the roads were blockaded by the enemy's

BOOK XXV.

Origin of the

Apollinarian

games.

Distress of the
Cantpantans.'

They beg

Hannibal to

provision Capua.

268

LIVY

BOOK XXV.

Hanno enters

Campania with

his troops.

Slackness of t).e
Campanians

Fabius enters
Beneventu}>i.

lie makes a
sxtdden attack

OH the

Carthaginian

camp.

forces. Hannibal directed Hanno to march with his troops
from Bruttium into Campania and take care that the Cam-
panians were furnished with an ample supply of corn. Leaving
Bruttium with his army and anxiously avoiding the enemy's
camp and the consuls who were in Samnium, Hanno, " on
arriving near Beneventum, encamped on high ground three
miles from the city. He then ordered corn to be brought
into his camp from the allied peoples in the neighbourhood,
where during the summer it had been stored, and assigned
a guard to accompany the convoys. Next, he sent a mes-
sage to Capua, stating the day on which they were to be at
his camp ready to receive the corn, after first collecting from
the whole country all kinds of carts and beasts of burden.
The Campanians acted in the matter with their characteristic
slowness and carelessness. They sent rather more than four
hundred carts with a few beasts of burden besides. For this
Hanno reprimanded them, telling them that even the hunger
which rouses dumb animals could not stir them to energy.
And he fixed another and more distant day for the procuring of
corn on a greater scale.

All this, just as it occurred, was reported to the citizens of
Beneventum, who at once sent ten envoys to the consuls, the
Roman camp being near Bovianum. On hearing what was
taking place at Capua, the consuls arranged between them^
selves that one of them should march his army into Campanij
Fabius, to whom this charge was assigned, set out and enterei
the walls of Beneventum by night. He learnt in the neighbour
hood that Hanno had gone foraging with a part of his army
that a quaestor had the business of delivering the corn to th<
Campanians ; that two thousand waggons and a disorderly, un
armed throng had arrived ; that all was tumult and excitement
and that the proper character of a camp and military disciplim
were destoyed by an influx of rustics from the country round
All this having been well authenticated, the consul issued orderi
to his soldiers to have their standards and arms, with nothing
else, in readiness for the next night, as the Carthaginian cami
must be attacked. They began their march at the fourth watch
all baggage and incumbrances having been left at Beneventum
Arriving at the camp a little before daybreak, they inspired sucl

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 269

a panic that, had the camp been on level ground, it could un- BOOK XXV.

doubtedly have been taken at the first assault. It was guarded

by the height of the position and by fortifications, which could

be approached only by a steep and difficult ascent. At early

dawn a fierce action was raging, and the Carthaginians not only

defended their lines, but, having the advantage of more even

ground, they hurled back their foes as they struggled up the

heights.

14. Srubborn courage, however, overcame everything, and
at several points simultaneously the assailants reached the in-
trenchments and the fosse, but with many wounds and much
loss of men. Accordingly the consul called together the officers
and told them " that their rash attempt must be abandoned ;
" that it was safer, in his opinion, to withdraw the army that
" very day to Beneventum, and then on the following to encamp
" close to the enemy, so that it might be impossible for the Cam-
" panians to quit their position, or for Hanno to return. To
" insure this the more easily, he would call for the aid of his
" colleague with his army, and they would together concentrate
" the whole war on this point."

i Such was the general's purpose, but, as soon as he sounded

I a retreat, the clamour of his soldiers, who spurned such tame

I leadership, scattered it to the winds. Close to one of the gates

jof the hostile camp was a Pelignian cohort, the officer of which,

'Vibius Accuseus, seized the standard and flung it across the

lenemy's lines. Then, invoking a curse on himself and his

jcohort should the enemy possess himself of the standard, he

I Irushed foremost through the fosse and the intrenchments into

' jthe camp. And now the Peligni were fighting within the lines,

[ while on the other side, where Valerius Flaccus, an officer of

I ,;he third legion, was taunting the Romans with cowardice for

'giving up to their allies the glory of storming the camp, Titus

Pedanius, a first-rank centurion, wrested a standard from its

nearer with the exclamation, " This standard and this centurion

' shall in a moment be within the enemy's lines. Follow me, all

• you who mean to save the standard from being taken by the

enemy." As he sprang across the fosse he was followed first

ly the men of his company, and then by the whole legion. And

ow the consul, too, as he saw them entering the intrenchments,

270

LIVY.

BOOK XXV.

The

Carthaginian

camp is

stormed.

Cerreto.

Hanno retires to
Bruttium.

The

Cmnpanians heg
Hannibcl to
come to the

rescue of Capua.

changed his purpose ; setting himself to incite and encourage
his men instead of recalling them, he pointed out to them in
what jeopardy and peril stood one of the bravest cohorts of
their allies, as well as a legion of their own fellow-citizens. So
all the soldiers, while missiles were showered upon them from all
sides and the enemy thrust their persons and their swords in the
way, pushed on, every man for himself, alike over rough and
smooth ground, and forced an entrance. Many a wounded
man, some even whose strength and blood were failing them,
struggled hard that they might fall within the enemy's lines. So
the camp was stormed in a moment, as if it had been situated
on level ground and not strongly fortified. Then followed a
massacre (for it was no longer a fight) of the confused
crowd within the intrenchments ; more than six thousand
of the enemy were slain, and above seven thousand made
prisoners, along with the Campanian foragers and the whole
array of waggons and beasts of burden. There was, besides,
an immense booty, which Hanno, when he went plundering!
about the country, had carried off from the lands of the allies -
of the Roman people. After demolishing the enemy's camp
they returned to Beneventum, and then the two consuls (foi
Appius Claudius arrived within a few days) sold and dividec
the spoil. Rewards were given to the men by whose exertion;
the enemy's camp had been taken ; above all, to Accuasus, thf
Pelignian, and to Titus Pedanius, chief officer of the third legion
From Cominium-Ocritum,* where tidings had been received o
the destruction of the camp, Hanno, with a few foragers whon
he happened to have with him, returned to Bruttium by wha
more resembled a flight than a march.

15. The Campanians, on hearing of the disaster which hat
befallen themselves and their allies, sent envoys to Hannibal ti
tell him " that the two consuls were at Beneventum, a day'
" march from Capua ; that the war was all but at their wall
" and gates, and that unless he came promptly to the rescue
" Capua would fall into the enemy's power sooner than Arp:
" Even Tarentum, much less its mere citadel, ought not to b^
" so valued as to make them surrender Capua, which he use
" to compare to Carthage, deserted and without defence to tl
" Roman people." Hannibal promised that he would have

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

271

Metapontutii

and Th^nii

re7)olt to

Hannibal.

care for the interests of the Campanians, and at once despatched book xxv.
two thousand cavalry with the envoys, a force with which they
could protect their lands from being ravaged.

The Romans, meanwhile, turned their thoughts, among other
matters, to the citadel of Tarentum, and the garrison there
blockaded. The Senate had authorised Publius Cornelius to
send his lieutenant, Caius Servilius, into Etruria to buy up com,
and this officer now made his way, with some vessels laden with
corn, into the harbour of Tarentum, through the enemy's guard- , Supplies

:> o JO furnished by the

ships. On his arrival, those very men who before, when their Romans to the
hopes were low, had been solicited by the enemy in frequent Tarentian.
interviews to transfer their allegiance, now themselves actually
pressed and solicited the enemy to change sides. There was,
indeed, a tolerably strong garrison, the troops at Metapontum
having been transferred to the defence of the citadel of Taren-
tum. The result was that the citizens of Metapontum, finding
themselves at once relieved from the terror which controlled
them, revolted to Hannibal. So also did the people of
Thurii, prompted not more by the revolt of the Tarentines and
Metapontines, with whom, coming as they originally did from
the same country, Achaia, they were connected by kinship,
[than by resentment against the Romans because of the recent
murder of the hostages. Their friends and relatives sent a
Jetter with a message to Hanno and Mago, who were in the
peighbourhood in Bruttium, offering to surrender the city into
jheir hands if they would march their army up to its walls.
j Marcus Atinius was in command at Thurii with rather a
Imall garrison. He could, they thought, be easily lured into
, lashly engaging in action, not that he trusted so much in the
ery few soldiers he had, as in the young men of Thurii, whom he
ad with a special purpose organised in companies and armed
)r such an emergency. The Carthaginian generals divided
leir forces between them as soon as they entered Thurian
^irritory, and Hanno, with his infantry in hostile array, pro-
ieded to march on the city. Mago halted with his cavalry
a place where he was screened by some hills which com-
etely concealed his manoeuvre. Atinius, who had ascertained
^m his scouts only the line of march of the infantry, led his
my into action without a suspicion of the treachery within

272

LIVY.

DesU uction of

ike Roman

garrison at

Thurii.

BOOK XXV. the town or of the enemy's ambush. The contest of the in-
fantry was very tame, a few Romans only fighting in the first
rank, and the men of Thurii rather awaiting the issue than
helping to decide it. And the Carthaginian line too fell back
intentionally, in order to draw the unwary foe to the back of
the hill which their cavalry occupied. When they reached this
point, the troopers rushed out on them with a shout, and in
a moment put to flight the ill-disciplined crowd of Thurian
citizens, who did not stand loyally by the side on which they
were fighting. The Romans for some time prolonged the battle,
though they were hemmed in and hard pressed by infantry
on one side and cavalry on the other. At last they too turned
their backs and fled to the city.

There the traitors in a dense body received their fellow-
citizens' army within the open gates ; but when they saw the
Romans hurrying to the town in rout, they all shouted that th'
Carthaginian was upon them, and that the enemy would rub
into the city in a promiscuous throng unless the gates were
promptly closed. Thus the Romans were shut out, and giver
up to the foe to be slaughtered. For a brief space civil discon
prevailed, one party maintaining that they ought to defend thi
city, the other that they ought to yield to fate and surrender
But, as often happens, fate and evil counsels triumphed. Atiniu
with his men was conducted to the sea and to the fleet, as the
wished to treat the man with consideration, more for his kindl
and just rule over them than out of respect for the Roman;
while the Carthaginians were admitted into the city. The coi
enter Campania. ^^^ xh^Xi. led the legions into Campanian territory, not men
to destroy the corn already stored in winter quarters, but also
attack Capua. They thought to make their consulate illustrioi
by destroying so powerful a city, and at the same time to wi
off from the empire the huge disgrace of a community so ni
to Rome having been in revolt more than two years with in
punity. But they did not wish Beneventum to be left withoi
defence, and in order that in any sudden emergency of war, or
the event of Hannibal marching on Capua, to bring succour
his allies (which they did not doubt he would do) their cavali
might be able to hold him in check, they ordered Tiberii
Gracchus to proceed from Lucania to Beneventum with

The consuls

rith hi

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 273

horse and light troops, while he was to leave some one in book xxv.
command of the legions and camp in Lucania, and thus retain
his hold on the country.

16. While Gracchus was sacrificing before moving from An

, . , 1 r -11 rr' unfavourable

Lucania, there occurred a portent of ill omen. 1 wo serpents omm.

stole up unseen to the victim's entrails, as soon as the sacrifice

was offered, and devoured the liver, disappearing the moment

they were perceived. By the advice of the augurs the sacrifice

was repeated and the entrails carefully watched when opened,

and a second and a third time, it is said, did the serpents

approach, taste the liver, and go away unharmed. Although

the augurs warned the army that this portent pointed to the

general, and that he mus\ beware of " secret enemies and

" councils," still no foresight could avert the impending doom.

There was one Flavus, a Lucanian, who, when some of his Treachery of a

countrymen revolted to Hannibal, was the head of the party whichGracchus

which stood by the Romans. He had been in office for a year, f'^^^^ "■ ^i<=i""-

having been appointed praetor by the Romans. Suddenly he

changed his mind and sought opportunity to win favour with

the Carthaginians. He was not satisfied with deserting himself

or with drawing the Lucanians into revolt, unless he could

bind the enemy by a treaty sealed with the life-blood of his

betrayed general and friend. He had a secret interview with

iMago, who commanded in Bruttium, and having received from

him an assurance that if he betrayed the Roman general to the

jCarthaginians, the Lucanians would be admitted into friendship,

Btill retaining their freedom and their laws, he at once conducted

'he Carthaginian commander to a place whither he said he

!d bring Gracchus with a small retinue. There he bade

1) have infantry and cavalry in readiness, and occupy an

uscade in which he could conceal a large force. The

• having been thoroughly examined and reconnoitred in

\ part, a day was fixed for carrying out the design.

; lavus then went to the Roman general. " I have entered,"

'- he, "on a great undertaking, for the accomplishment of

ich I need your own co-operation. I have persuaded the

aads of all the nations, which in the late commotion

hioughout all Italy revolted to the Carthaginians, to return

iViendship with Rome. Rome's power, we see, which was

T

274 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. "brought to the verge of ruin by the disaster of Cannae, is
. " daily advancing and gathering strength, while the might of
" Hannibal is on the wane and has come almost to nothing. In
" the matter of an old offence, the Romans will not be implac-
" able ; no people has ever been more easily moved to mercy,
" or more ready to grant forgiveness. How often have they for-
" given rebellion in my own ancestors ? I have told them all
" this myself," he added, " but they would rather hear it from
" Gracchus' own lips, to see him face to face, and touch his
"right hand. Such is the proposal I have brought, as a pledge
" of my good faith. I have named a place to those who are in
" my secret, quite out of sight, and not far from the Roman
" camp. There the matter can be settled in a few words, and
" Rome have the alliance and obedience of the whole Lucanian
"nation."

Gracchus, thinking that there was no deceit in the man's words
or in. the affair, and cheated by his plausibility, set out with
his lictors and one squadron of cavalry, and under his friend's
guidance fell headlong into the ambuscade. Suddenly the
enemy rose upon him, and, to remove all- doubt as to treachery,
Flavus himself joined them. A shower of darts on every sid«
met Gracchus and his troopers. He sprang from his hors^
bidding the others do the same, and encouraging them " t<
" shed some glory by their valour on the one only thing fortune
" had left in their power. For what was left but death to i
" handful of men hemmed in, as they were, by a vasi
" multitude, in a valley inclosed by woods and mountains i
" All that concerned them was this ; should they give up theii
" bodies like cattle to be slaughtered unavenged, or turninj
" with all the energy of their spirit from passively awaiting th
" issue to a fierce and furious effort, fall, doing and daring
" covered with the enemy's blood, amid a pile of the arms anil
" bodies of dying foes ? The Lucanian traitor and deserter wa
" to be every man's mark, and whoever sent him a victim t(
" the gods of hell before himself, would find in his own deatl
" a glorious honour and a noble consolation."

As he said this, he twisted his military cloak round his lef
arm (for they had not so much as taken their shields with them
and made a rush at the enemy. There was a sharper fight th;

lan

Gracchus.
Calore.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 275

could have- been expected from the number of the combatants. BOOK xxv.

The bodies of the Romans, being completely exposed, were

pierced by darts, of which there fell a shower on every side

from the higher ground into the hollow of the valley. Gracchus

was now left without defence, and the Carthaginians did their

utmost to take him alive. But espying his Lucanian friend

amid the enemy, he rushed on the dense array with such fury

that it was impossible to spare his life without heavy loss. As

soon as he was dead, Mago sent his body to Hannibal, with

orders to have it set up together with the " fasces " taken with

it in front of the general's tribunal. This is the true story.

Gracchus perished in what are called the " Old Fields " in

Lucania.

17. Some there are who declare that he fell in the country Various

r-ri , • ^,jji 111,,--,. accounts of the

of Beneventum, near the river Calor,* where he had left his death of
camp with his lictors and their servants to bathe, while the
enemy chanced to be concealed amid the willow plantations on
the banks, and was cut down naked and unarmed, defending
himself with the stones rolled down by the stream. Others
again relate that by the advice of the augurs he had gone half
a mile from the camp to expiate in an open space the portents
above mentioned, and was intercepted by two squadrons of
Numidian horse which, as it happened, were occupying the
position. So little agreement is there, eminent and renowned as
was the man, both as to the place and the manner of his death.
There are various accounts too of his funeral. Some tell us
that he was buried by his own men in the Roman camp ; others
that Hannibal raised his funeral pile at the entrance of the
Carthaginian camp. This latter is the more generally accepted
story. It is further added that the troops marched under arms,
with Spanish dances moving their weapons and bodies according
to the fashions of their respective tribes, while Hannibal him-
self celebrated his obsequies with every honour which acts and
words could testify.

Such are the accounts of historians who speak of the
ncident as occurring in Lucania. If you choose to believe
hose who say that Gracchus was slain at the river Calor, the
memy possessed themselves only of his head. This having
«en conveyed to Hannibal, he at once despatched Carthalo

T 2

276

LIVY.

Defeat of the
consuls in
Campania.

BOOK XXV. to carry it to the qusestor Cneius Cornelius in the Roman camp.
Cornehus performed the general's funeral rites in the camp,
and the citizens of Beneventum joined the army in their
celebration.

18. The consuls entered Campania and ravaged it far and
wide, but a sudden sortie of the townsfolk and of Mago with
his cavalry compelled them in confusion and terror to recall
their straggling troops to the standards. Their army was
scarcely yet arrayed for battle when they were routed with a
loss of more than one thousand five hundred men. Upon this
an overweening confidence swelled the hearts of this naturally
arrogant people, and they harassed the Romans ifi a succession
of skirmishes. But the single battle on which they had ventured
rashly and unadvisedly, had made the consuls more vigilant in
their precautions. One trifling incident, however, restored the I
courage of the Romans and diminished the audacity of the
Campanians. Nothing indeed is so insignificant in war that
it may not occasionally be the determining cause of a great
result. .
A Campanitin Badius, a Campanian, was the friend of one Titus Quinctius

Ronian'tTsingle Crispinus, and very close was the friendship which united thenj
combat. -pi^g intimacy had increased in consequence of Badius, befor
the revolt of Campania, having received during an illness a
Rome kind and generous treatment in the house of Crispinus
He now stepped out in front of the sentries posted before on
of the camp-gates, and bid them call Crispinus. Crispinui
receiving the message, thought that a friendly interview on th
strength of the still lingering recollection of private obligatio
was requested, even amid the disruption of public treaties ; an
he proceeded a short distance in advance of his comrade!
When they came in sight, Badius exclaimed, " I challenge yo
"to combat, Crispinus. Let us mount our horses and decid
" which is the better man in war, whilst the rest stand aloof.]
To which Crispinus rejoined, " Neither I nor you are in wa
"of foes on whom to display ,our valour. Even were I
" meet you in the field, I would turn aside rather than
" my right hand with the blood of a friend."

He turned and went away as he spoke. Instantly, with fie
insolence, the Campanian upbraided his tameness and cowardice!

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

277

BOOK XXV.

and flung at the innocent man taunts which he himself deserved.
" A friendly foe," he called him, " who was feigning to spare one
" for whom he knew that he was not a match. If you do not
" think that the disruption of public treaties has broken off also
" all private obligations, I, Badius, the Campanian, in the
" hearing of the two armies, openly renounce the friendship of
" Titus Quinctius Crispinus, the Roman. No tie exists between
" this man and me, no bond of alliance, when I am the foe of
" a foe who has come to make war on my country and the gods
" of my land and my home. Meet me, if you are a man."

Crispinus hesitated long, but was persuaded by his brother-
troopers not to suffer the Campanian to insult him with impunity.
Waiting only till he had asked the generals whether they would
allow him out of the usual course to fight an enemy who
challenged him, by their permission he took his arms,
mounted his horse, and, calling Badius by name, summoned
him to combat. There was not a moment's delay on the part
of the Campanian. They charged and met. Crispinus with
his lance pierced the left shoulder of Badius over his shield,
and sprang on him as he fell wounded from his horse, intending,
himself on foot, to despatch his prostrate foe. Badius, before
he was overpowered, left his shield and his horse and fled to his
comrades. Crispinus, adorned with his spoils and displaying
ithe steed and arms he had captured and his blood-stained
spear, was conducted to the consuls amid the loud praises and
congratulations of his. fellow-soldiers. The consuls too praised
him in the highest terms, and loaded him with gifts,

19. Hannibal, having moved his camp from the country of
Beneventum to Capua, led out his troops to battle on the third
lay after his arrival. As the Campanians had fought a suc-
cessful action in his absence a few days before, he had no doubt ^"'^^g^^ff^^'""
hat the Romans would be far less able to resist himself and Hannibal and
lis repeatedly victorious army. As soon as the battle began,
!he Roman line suffered much from the enemy's horse, being
]most overwhelmed with showers of missiles, till the cavalry
ceived orders to charge the enemy at full speed. A cavalry
^agagement followed, when there appeared in the distance
jie army of Sempronius, commanded by the quaestor, Caius
omelius, and both sides were seized with a fear that a new

Victory of the
Roman.

the Romans
near Capua.

278 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. enemy was at hand. The signal of retreat was given in both
armies, seemingly by mutual agreement, and so they were
marched back into camp and parted on almost equal terms,
though more fell on the Roman side in the first charge of the
cavalry.

The consuls, seeking to draw Hannibal away from Capua,
separated on the following night, Fulvius marching into the terri-
tory of Cumae and Claudius into Lucania. Next day Hannibal
received intelligence that the Roman camp was deserted, and
that the army had quitted it by two different routes. At first,
uncertain which to pursue, he decided to follow up Claudius, who
led his enemy a long circuit the way he pleased, and returned
by another road to Capua. But chance gave Hannibal another
opportunity of striking a successful blow in these parts.
Rash atiem^i of '^^^^^ was One Marcus Centenius, by surname Psenula, distin
a Roman guished among the first-rank centurions both for bodily size and

eentunon,e7iding o o ■'

ina/atai courage. He had completed his term of service, and, having
been introduced to the Senate by Publius Cornelius Sulla, the
praetor, he begged them to give him five thousand soldiers,
assuring them that " knowing as he did, the enemy and th(
" country, he would soon make it worth their while, and tu;
" the stratagems which in thpse localities had proved fatal
" Roman generals and armies against their inventor."

The promise, stupidly made, was as stupidly believed, jui
as if the qualities of a general were the same as those of
soldier. He was intrusted with eight instead of five thousani
troops, half being citizens, half allies. He himself too, on hi
march, raised a considerable force of volunteers from th-
country districts, and with his army almost doubled he enb
Lucania, where Hannibal, after his fruitless pursuit of Cla
had halted. The result could not be doubtful, when it
contest between a general such as Hannibal and a centu:
one army, too, being veterans in victory, while the othe;
altogether new and for the most part levied at random and
armed. As soon as the armies saw each other, neither
declining to fight, order of battle was formed. Fiercely
fought, considering their utter disparity, and that for more
two hours, the Roman army with peculiar energy, as lo
their leader stood his ground. At last, both for the sake

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 279

old renown and from the fear of disgrace should he survive a book xxv.
disaster brought on by his own rashness, he threw himself amid
the enemy's darts and was slain. The Roman army was routed
in a moment. So completely closed against them was every
chance of escape, all the roads being beset by cavalry, that
out of so numerous a host hardly a thousand escaped. The
rest perished as they fled, some by one death and some by
another. h ■ ri

20. Again the consuls began to besiege Capua in full force- ^y "/u consuls.
All that was required for the purpose was in course of being
brought together and provided. Corn was stored at Casilinum ;
a fort was erected at the mouth of the Voltumus, where a city
now stands. There had previously been some fortifications
raised by Fabius Maximus, and now a garrison was posted
there to command the neighbouring coast and the river. Corn
lately sent from Sardinia, and some bought up by Marcus
Junius, the praetor from Etruria, was conveyed from Ostium
to these two seaside fortresses, that the army might have an
abundant supply throughout the winter.

Meantime the disaster, which had been sustained in Lu-

cania, was aggravated by the desertion of the slave-volunteer

1 army, which as long as Gracchus was alive had served most

\ loyally, but which regarded itself as disbanded on the death

of its general.

Hannibal was unwilling that Capua should be left to itself,

or his allies forsaken in so perilous a crisis. But, encouraged

) by the success he had won through the rashness of one Roman

general, he was watching intently the opportunity of crushing

another together with his army. He was told by envoys from

Apulia that the praetor Cneius Fulvius had at first, while

besieging some Apulian towns which had revolted to Hannibal, Apulia.

conducted his operations with vigilance, but that subsequently,

n the flush of success, both he and his soldiers who were

glutted with spoil, had abandoned themselves to such license

md carelessness that all military discipline was at an end.

)ften, at other times, and now only a few days before, he had

earnt by experience what an army is under an incompetent

jader, and so he moved his camp into Apulia.

21. The Roman legions, under the praetor Fulvius, were in

28o

LIVY.

BOOK XXV,

* Ordona.

He is utterly
defeated by
Hannibal,

the neighbourhood of Herdonea* As soon as they had news
of the enemy's approach, they all but tore up the standards,
and marched out to battle without orders from the praetor.
What chiefly kept them back was a confident assurance that
they might do this when they pleased by their own choice. On
the following night Hannibal, who was well aware that thei-e
was an uproar in the camp, and that many of the soldiers were
shouting " To arms," and had fiercely insisted on their general
giving the signal, felt assured that an opportunity of victory
was presenting itself, and posted three thousand light-armed
troops in neighbouring farmsteads and amid bushes and copses.
At a given signal all were to spring out at the same moment
from their hiding-places. Mago, too, with about two thousand
cavalry had orders to block all the roads in the direction which
he thought the flight would take.

Having made these preparations during the night, Hannibal
at break of day led out his army to battle. Nor did Fulvius
hesitate, though he was urged on more by the impetuosity
his men than by any confidence of his own. And so it was thj
with the same heedlessness with which they marched to battl^
was their battle-array formed, the soldiers advancing or halj
ing, just as their inclination prompted, and then, from caprice
terror, abandoning their posts. In the van were drawn up tl
first legion and the left wing of the allies, and the line was el
tended to a great length, though the tribunes loudly protest^
that there was no solidity or strength within, and that wherev^
the enemy attacked he would break through. But not a woi^
for their good would the men admit into their ears, much lej
into their minds. And now Hannibal was close upon them,
very different general., with a very different army, arrayed, to«|
far otherwise. As a consequence, the Romans did not bea
against even the first shout and onset of the enem^.
leader, a match for Centenius in folly and recklessness, buf
to be compared to him in courage, seeing his line wavering :
his men in confusion, seized a horse and fled with about tw'
hundred cavalry. The rest of the army beaten in front^
surrounded on its rear and flanks, was so cut up that oil
eighteen thousand men not more than two thousand esca
The camp was taken by the enemy.

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

281

22. When these disasters, following one upon another, were BOOK XXV
reported at Rome, a truly terrible grief and alarm spread through
the State. Still, the fact that the consuls were successful at the
point where the more important issue lay, somewhat lessened
men's trouble at such losses. Two envoys, Caius Laetorius
and Marcus Metilius, were despatched to the consuls, with
instructions that the remnants of the two armies were to be
carefully collected and everything done to prevent them from
surrendering to the enemy in terror and despair, as had hap-
pened after the defeat of Cannae, and to seek out the deserters
from the slave-volunteer army. The same charge was given
to Publius Cornelius, who had also to levy fresh troops, and he
published a proclamation in the market and assize-towns that
search was to be made for the slave-volunteers, and that they
were to be brought back to the standards. All this was done
with the strictest care.

The consul, Appius_ Claudius, had posted Didius Junius at
the mouth of the Vulturnus and Marcus Aurelius Cotta at
Puteoli, with orders to send corn immediately to the camp, as
soon as the ships had arrived, respectively, from Etruria and Sar-
dinia. He marched back himself to Capua, and found his col-
league Quintus Fulvius at Casilinum, from which place he was
laboriously conveying all the materials for the siege of Capua.
Both -of them now invested the city and summoned the aid of
Claudius Nero, the praetor, from the camp of Claudius Mar-
cellus at Suessula. So Nero, too, leaving a small force to hold
the position, advanced on Capua with all his remaining troops.
Thus the headquarters of three generals were established round
Capua, and three armies having begun the siege at different
ijl points prepared to surround the town with a fosse and rampart,
f\ and threw up forts at moderate intervals. There was fighting
.; in several places simultaneously with the Campanians, who
j| tried to stop the works, the result being that the Campanians
rtl at last confined themselves within their gates and walls.
i Before, however, this line of work^ was completed, envoys
i were sent to Hannibal, charged with a remonstrance at his
having abandoned Capua, and all but given it back to the
Romans. They were also to implore him now at least to bring
them succour, as they were not merely beleaguered, but actually

The siege of
Capua is
vigorously
pressed.

The
Campatiians

again ask

Hannibal to

come to the

rescue.

282 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. walled in. The consuls received the following despatch from
the praetor Pubhus Cornelius : — " Before they closed in Capua
" with their works they were to grant all the Campanians who
" wished it, liberty to leave the city, and take away with them
" their property. Those who left before the fifteenth day of
" March were to be free, and retain all that belonged to them ;
" those who left after that date, and those who remained there,
" were to be reckoned as enemies."

Hannibal faih This offer was publicly made to the Campanians, but they

in ail attempt , . ■ , , , . . , , ,

on the citadel of spumed It SO Utterly as to add gratuitous msults and threats.
Tarentum. Hannibal had now marched his legions from Herdonea to
Tarentum, in the hope of possessing himself of the Tarentine
citadel, by force or by stratagem. As this did not succeed, he
bent his course towards Brundisium under the impression
that the town intended to surrender. There too he was
wasting his time to no purpose, when the Campanian envoys
came to him with mingled remonstrances and intreaties. Han-
His reply to the nibal gave them an arrogant reply ; " he had once before raise<
Cajnpamans. « ^j^g siege, and now the consuls would not await his arrival.'
Such was the hope with which he dismissed the envoys, wh(
were hardly able to return to Capua, surrounded, as it now was
with a double fosse and rampart.
Siege q/ 23. Just at the time when Capua was being walled in, th(

Syracuse. . ^ ^ . ,.,...

Operations of Siege ot byracuse came to an end, treachery withm assisting a
Marceiius. ^^jj ^^ ^j^^ Strength and valour of the general and his armj
At the beginning of spring Marceiius indeed had double*
whether he should turn his arms towards Agrigentum agains
Himilco and Hippocrates, or press the blockade of Syracuse
though he saw that it was a city which being unassailable hot
by sea and land, could not be carried by assault, or reduced bj
famine, nourished, as it was, with almost perfect freedom b]
supplies from Carthage. To leave, however, nothing untried
he ordered some Syracusan deserters to sound in conversatioi
the temper of their own partisans and give them an assurance
that in the event of the surrender of Syracuse, such person;
should live free and under their own laws. The Romans ha(
indeed among them some men of the highest rank who ha<
been exiled when the revolt from Rome took place becaus'
they were averse to the change. There was however no oppor

-Ml

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 283

tunity for interviews ; the sentiments of many persons were BOOK xxv.

suspected, and the vigilance and observation of all the citizens

were quickened to prevent any such attempt passing unobserved.

A single slave belonging to the exiles, getting into the city

as a deserter, gathered a few men round him and opened the Schemes for the

surrender of

way to a conference. Soon afterwards some of these persons the city.
were conveyed in a fishing-vessel, hidden under nets, to the
Roman camp, where they had conversations with the deserters.
The same thing was repeatedly done in the same way by others,
and again by others, till at last they reached the number of
eighty. All arrangements having now been made for a sur-
render, information was given to Epicydes by one Attalus, who
was indignant at not having been intrusted with the secret, and
all were put to death with torture.

This hope having proved fallacious, it was soon succeeded
by another. A Lacedaemonian, Damippus, who had been sent
from Syracuse to King Philip, had been captured by some
Roman ships. The recovery of this particular man was a great
object to Epicydes, and even Marcellus did not object, as at
that time the Romans were bidding for the friendship of the
Actolians, a nation with whom the Lacedaemonians were in
alliance. Those who were sent to confer on the release of the
I captive were of opinion that the most central and most con-

Ivenient place for both sides was at the^ port Trogilii, near a
tower called Galeagra. To this place they went frequently to
and fro, and one of the Romans who had surveyed the wall
from a near point, by counting the stones and estimating in his
mind what was the breadth of each stone on its face, calculated
its height, as accurately as was possible by inference. Having
come to the conclusion that it was somewhat lower than he and
all the others had previously thought, and that it could be
scaled by quite moderate ladders, he reported the matter to
Marcellus. It seemed to deserve consideration. But as the
jplace, being for this very reason more vigilantly guarded, could
jnot be approached, a favourable moment was sought, and this
;Was afforded by a deserter. He brought word that they were
eeping a three days* festival to Diana and that, as other things
ed them from the blockade, they were celebrating their feast
ith wine in unusual abundance, which had been supplied by

284 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. Epicydes to the whole populace and distributed among the
tribes by the leading citizens.

MarceJlus on hearing this conferred with a few of his
officers, and having through them picked out some centurions
and soldiers well-fitted to dare and carry out such an attempt,
and having secretly provided scaling ladders, he directed orders
to be given to the rest of his troops to refresh themselves
promptly and seek repose. At night he must start, he said, on
an expedition. When he thought the time had arrived at which,
after feasting from early day, the citizens would have had their
fill of wine and be beginning to sleep, he ordered the soldiers
of one company to bring the scaling-ladders. About a thousand

The Romans ^^^"^^^ "^^^^ were silently marched to the place in a thin column.

scale the wall, As soon as the forcmost had mounted the wall without noise or

confusion, others followed in due order-; for the daring of the

first gave courage even to the wavering.

and capture 24. A thousand armed soldiers were by this time in posses-

part of the city. . ^ , - , . , , ' . ,. , , ,

sion of a part of the city, when the rest of the scalmg-ladder
were brought up, and the men were climbing the wall by i
number of ladders at a given signal from the Hexapylon, whicl
had been reached after traversing a vast solitary space. Mos
of the guards had been feasting in the towers, and were no«
either sound asleep with the wine they had drunk, or were stil
drinking to intoxication. A few, however, of them were sur
prised in their beds and slain. A little gate near the Hexapyloi
was beginning to yield to a violent assault, and a signal wai
given by a trumpet from the wall, as had been previous!]
arranged. And now there was no concealment anywhere, bu
all was done by open attack, as they had penetrated to Epipolaei
a position held by numerous guards, and the enemy had to b<
frightened rather than eluded, as in fact they were. As soon a
they heard the sound of trumpets and the shouts of the assailant
now occupying the walls and a part of the city, the sentriei
thought that all was won. Some fled along the wall, othen
leaped from it, and the panic-stricken crowd threw themselves
down headlong. Most of them, however, knew nothing of th«
terrible disaster, for all were heavy with wine and sleep, and it
a city of vast extent, what was known in one quarter did not
reach to the whole.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 285

At daybreak Marcellus, after forcing the Hexapylon, entered BOOK xxv,

the town with his entire army, thus rousing and constraining Marcellus enters

the whole population to arm themselves, and render what aid ^*"' zsw 0 e

they could to their city, all but captured as it now was. Epicydes

advanced at quick march from the island (Nasos is the local

name), quite confident that he would merely have to drive out

a handful of men who had scaled the walls, and saying again

and again to the panic-stricken fugitives who met him that they

were aggravating the confusion and. bringing news much worse

and more alarming than the reality. When however he saw

every point near Epipolce crowded with armed men, he simply

discharged a few missiles at the enemy and then marched

back his men to the Achradina, dreading not so much the

strength and number of the foe as the treachery from within

that might take advantage of the opportunity, and fearing to

find the gates of the Achradina and the Island closed amid the

confusion. Marcellus who had now entered the walls, and

standing on the heights had under his eyes what was on the His feelings at

whole the most beautiful city of the time, is said to have '^ ^^"ity ^

I shed tears at the sight, partly from joy at having accomplished

I such a success, partly from the remembrance of the ancient

I glories of the place. He thought of the Athenian fleets which

I had been sunk in that harbour, of the two great armies which

I with the two most illustrious generals had^here utterly perished,

jof the many wars waged with such tremendous efforts against

iCarthage, of its many powerful princes and tyrants, Hiero

above the rest, a king whose memory was still so fresh, and

jwho, far beyond all the distinctions due to his virtue and

jreatness, was famed for his services to Rome. As all this

'ose to his mind and the thought came over him that all he

iaw would in another moment be in flames and reduced to

-shes, before he advanced his standards to the Achradina,

le sent on the Syracusans who, as already related, had been

I thin the Roman lines, to try whether kindly words might

ersuade the enemy to capitulate.

25. The gates and walls of the Achradina were chiefly
eld by deserters, who had no hope of mercy through negotia-
ons, and these men allowed no one to approach the walls The Achradina
no address them. So Marcellus, finding his attempt fruit- 'i^" ^"^'i'""^-

286

LIVY.

Marcellus
encamfis in the

city.

BOOK XXV. less, ordered his standards to be withdrawn to the Euryalus,
a hill in a remote part of the city away from the sea and
overlooking a road leading into the country and the interior
of the island. It was particularly well situated for the recep-
tion of supplies. This strong position was in the charge of
Philodemus,- an Argive, by the appointment of Epicydes. To
him Marcellus despatched one of the murderers of the tyrant,
Sosis by name. The man, finding himself, after a long con-
versation, put off with idle excuses, brought back word to
Marcellus that Philodemus had taken time for deliberation.
Day after day he still delayed, while Hippocrates and Himilco,
were advancing their camp and their legions, for he did not I
doubt, that if once he received them within their stronghold
the Roman army might be shut up within the walls, and be
destroyed.

Marcellus, seeing that the Euryalus was not surrendered
and could not be taken, established his camp between Neapolis
and Tycha, districts of the city, so called, and indeed them-
selves as large as cities. He was afraid that if he entered any
densely inhabited places, he should not be able to restrain hi
soldiers from dispersing in their greed for spoil. Envoys c£
to him with olive-branches and woollen fillets from Neapo]^
and Tycha, imploring hrm that they might be spared fire
sword. Their requests, or rather their intreaties were take
into consideration by Marcellus, who, with the general approva
proclaimed to his troops " that no soldier was to harm the pe
" son of a freeborn citizen, and that all besides would be f(|
" plunder." The walls of private houses were now like a for
fication, protecting his camp. At the gates which opened on
the streets, sentries and guards were posted, that there might
no sudden attack on the camp while the soldiers were disperse^
This disposal took place at a given signal. Doors were brokeJ
open, all was uproar, panic, and confusion ; still the men rej
frained from bloodshed. Of pillage there was no end, till
the accumulated wealth of long> prosperity had been ransackeJ
Philodemus meantime, seeing that he had no prospect of relies
Surrender 0/ the after having received a guarantee of a safe return to Epicydei
£u'^'aii/s withdrew his garrison and surrendered the hill to the Romang
While all were intent on the confusion in the partly ca{

UlllcUJa ;

11

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

287

Marcellus
besieges the
Achradina.

city, Bomilcar, finding a night on which the violence of a storm book xxv.
did not allow the Roman fleet to ride at anchor in deep water,
quitted the port of Syracuse with thirty-five vessels, and, the
sea being clear of an enemy, sailed out into the open deep,
leaving Epicydes and the Syracusans with fifty ships. Having
explained to the Carthaginians what an imminent crisis hung
over the fortunes of Syracuse, he returned in a few days with
a hundred vessels, and was rewarded, as tradition says, by
Epicydes with gifts out of Hiero's treasures.

26. Marcellus having possessed himself of the Euryalus
and secured it with a garrison, was free from one anxiety. There
was no fear of a hostile attack on the fortress from the rear,
such as might cause panic among his men while still confined
and entangled amid the walls. He next laid siege to the
Achradina, establishing three camps in suitable positions, in
the hope of reducing the besieged to the want of every neces-
sary. For several days the sentries on both sides had been
undisturbed, when suddenly the arrival of Hippocrates and
Himilco led to the Romans themselves being attacked on every
side. Hippocrates had fortified a camp near the great harbour,
and, after giving a signal to the garrison of the Achradina,
assaulted the old camp of the Romans, which was in the charge
of Crispinus. At the same moment Epicydes sallied out on
the sentries of Marcellus, while the Carthaginian fleet came to
shore between the city and the Roman camp, so preventing any
reinforcements being sent by Marcellus to support Crispinus.
Still the enemy, though causing much alarm, did little damage.
Crispinus not only repulsed Hippocrates from his lines, but
even pursued him as he fled in panic, and Marcellus too drove
Epicydes back into the city. It seemed now that for the
future adequate precautions had been taken against any danger
arising from sudden sorties of the Syracusans. Pestilence was
^ added to their sufferings, a common trouble, and quite suffi-
cient to divert their minds from thoughts of war. It was
autumn, and the locality naturally unhealthy, much more so,
I however, without than within the city, and the intolerable
intensity of the heat affected almost every constitution in both
camps. At first men fell sick, and died from the insalubrity of
the season and the place, and after a while attendance on the

Outbreak of a
pestilence.

288

LIVY.

BOOK XXV. sick, and contact with them, spread the disorder. Consequently,
all who fell sick, either died untended and forsaken, or involved
in their own fate, by infecting with the same virulent disease,
those who sat by them and nursed them. Every day were to be
seen deaths and funerals ; everywhere, day and night, the sound
of wailing was heard. At last men became so brutalised by fami-
liarity with horror that they ceased not only to follow the dead
with tears and the usual laments, but even to carry them out to
burial, and lifeless bodies lay strewn on the ground under the
eyes of those who were awaiting the same death. So, what
with terror, and, above all, the foul presence and fatal smell of
the corpses, the dead were the destruction of the diseased, and
the diseased of the sound and healthy. Some even rushed alone
on the enemy's sentries, that they might rather perish by the
sword. But the pestilence fastened with far greater violence on the
Carthaginian camp than on the Roman, which, from the long
blockade, had become more habituated to the climate and water
of Syracuse. The Sicilians among the enemy's army left it ;
soon as they saw disease spreading from the unhealthiness
the locality, and dispersed to their own cities. The Carth^
ginians, however, who had no retreat open to them, perished '
a man, with their .leaders Hippocrates and Himilco. Mar
cellus had marched his men into the city, when the violence c
the malady increased, and their feeble frames were restored b;
shade and shelter. Still many of the Roman army were swep
off by this pestilence.

27. After the destruction of the Carthaginian land-armj
the Sicilians who had served under Hippocrates went off t
certain towns, which, though small, were secure from thei
position and fortifications. One was three, the other fifteei
miles from Syracuse. Thither they conveyed supplies fron
their own states, and invited reinforcements. Meanwhili

Their fleet sails Bomilcar sailed a second time with his fleet to Carthage, an<

to Cartilage, and , . - , ,. , /- ■ ■ n- xJ

gave such a representation of the plight of their allies as t(
create a hope that they might not only be effectually relieved
but also that the Romans might somehow be taken along witl
the captured city. Thereby he induced them to send him of
with as many transport vessels as possible, laden with stores 0
all kinds, and to increase his fleet. So he left Carthage with

Tlie

Ca rtiiagin ian

army perislies

to a man.

returns •witit

supplies and

reinforcements.

SECOND rUNIC WAR.

289

hundred and thirty war ships and seventy transport vessels, and
had favourable enough winds for the passage to Sicily. Those
same winds, however, prevented him from rounding Cape
Pachynus.*

The rumoured approach and then the unexpected delay of
Bomilcar produced an alternation of joy and alarm among the
Romans and the Syracusans. Epicydes, who feared that if the
winds then prevailing continued to blow from the east for many
more days, the Carthaginian fleet would return to Africa, in-
trusted the Achradina to the officers of his mercenary troops,
and sailed himself to Bomilcar. He found him with his fleet
facing the coast of Africa, and afraid of a naval engagement,
not so much because he was unequal in strength and number of
vessels (for he had more than his adversaries) as because the
winds blew more favourably for the Roman ships than for his
own. At last, however, he persuaded him to decide on trying
the issue of a naval encounter. Marcellus, too, seeing that a
Sicilian army was gathering from the whole island, and that a
Carthaginian fleet was at hand with vast supplies, determined,
tliough inferior in the number of his fleet, to oppose Bomilcar's
approach to Syracuse, and so save himself from being shut in
and confined, both by land and sea, within a hostile city. Two
opposing fleets now stood off Cape Pachynus, about to fight as
jsoon as a calm sea let them sail out into deep water. When
the east wind, which had raged for several days, began to fall,
''- "lilcar was the first to move. His fleet, it seemed, was the
(0 make for deep water, with the view of more easily round-
he promontory. When, however, he saw the Roman ships
iiicing towards him, he sailed out into the open sea, whether
Oil any sudden alarm is unknown, and after sending messen-
gers to Heraclea to order the return of the transport vessels to
\fi ica, he made for Tarentum, coasting along Sicily. Epicydes,
';reat hopes having thus suddenly failed him, not wishing to
ick to be blockaded in a city already in great part captured,
(I to Agrigentum,f where he meant to await the issue rather
to attempt any movement.
28. When the news reached the Sicilian camp that Epicydes
k1 left Syracuse, that the island had been abandoned by the
arihaginians, and a second time, in a manner, given up to the

U

BOOR XXV.

I'assaro.

Marcellus offers '

battle, which the

Carthaginiati

fleet declines.

Epicydes retires
to Agrigentum.

+ Girgemi.

Envoys/rotn
the Sicilian

army to
Marcellus.

290

LIVY.

BOOK XXV.

They enter
Syracuse.

The officers of

Epicydes are put

to death.

Address of the

envoys to the

people of

Syracuse.

Romans, envoys were despatched to Marcellus to discuss thf

terms of the city's surrender, the wishes of the besieged having

previously been ascertained in various interviews. It being

on the whole agreed that all the possessions of the kings

were now to be the possessions of the Romans, but thai

the Sicilians were to retain all else with their freedom and

their laws, the men whom Epicydes had left in trust were

summoned to a conference, in which the envoys told them thai

they had been sent by the Sicilian army to them as well as tc

Marcellus. It was the army's wish that both the besieged anc

those who were free of the siege should fare alike, and that neithei

should make any separate terms for themselves. Havinc'

been allowed to enter, and to have some conversation wit

their kinsfolk and friends, the envoys explained what they ha

already arranged with Marcellus, and holding out to them th

prospect of safety, induced them to join them in an attack o

the officers of Epicydes, Polyclitus, Philistio, and on Epicydt

surnamed Sindon. These they put to death ; and then, callin

an assembly of the people, they complained bitterly of th

distress at which the citizens had been used to grumble secret)

among themselves, and declared that, "though they wer

' crushed by so many miseries, they did not blame fortum

' inasmuch as it rested with themselves how long they wo^

'endure them. The motive of the Romans in besieg|

' Syracuse was love, not hatred, of the Syracusans ; it

' when they heard that their government had been seized

Hannibal's satellites, and then by Hippocrates and Epicyc

'the satellites of Hieronymus, that they at once comment

' hostilities and began the siege of the city — an attack aim^

' not at the city itself, but at its cruel masters. But now t^

' H ippocrates was dead, and Epicydes shut out by the Syracusa

' his officers slain, and the Carthaginians deprived of all h^

' on Sicily either by sea or land, what reason yet remained

' the Romans should not wish Syracuse to be safe, just

' if Hiero himself, that singularly warm supporter of friendst

' with Rome, were still living ? Neither their city, therefo

' nor its inhabitants were in any danger but from themselv^

' should they let slip this opportunity of reconciliatior

' Rome, as soon as ever they found themselves free fr<3

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

291

Deputation

from the

Syraciisans to

Marcellus.

"domination of tyrants ; for such an opportunity as they had at BOOK XX v.
" that moment they would never have again."

29. They all listened to this speech with the most marked

approval. But before nominating envoys it was decided to

appoint praetors, and then deputies chosen from among these

praetors were sent to Marcellus. The chief deputy spoke as

follows : " It was not we Syracusans who, in the first instance,

" revolted- from you; it was Hieronymus, who acted far more

" wickedly towards us than towards you. And then afterwards,

" when peace was made on the tyrant's death, it was not any

" Syracusan who disturbed it ; it was those satellites of the

" king, Hippocrates and Epicydes, who crushed us by terror, on

" the one hand, and by treachery on the other. Indeed, no one

" can say that we have ever had a period of freedom which has not

"also been a period of peace with you. Now, at any rate, the

" moment we have begun to be our own masters, through the

" destruction of the men who held Syracuse under their grasp,

" we have come at once to give up our arms, to surrender our

" persons, our city, our walls, to accept, in fact, any condition

" which you shall determine for us. On you, Marcellus, heaven

"has bestowed the glory of taking the noblest and fairest of

"Greek cities ; and all the memorable deeds we have achieved

" by land or sea are added to the record of your triumph. Let

" it not be your wish that belief in the grandeur of the city you

" have taken should depend on report rather than on the eyes of

i " posterity, even as it now exhibits to all who visit it by land or

' " sea our trophies over the Athenians and Carthaginians, and

• this present yours over us. Hand down, we beseech you, to

our family Syracuse unharmed, to be preserved under the

' j)rotection and guardianship of the name of the Marcelli. Do

" not let yourselves be influenced by the memory of Hieronymus

" more than by that of Hiero. He was far longer your friend

"than Hieronymus was your foe. His good services you have

'■ indeed experienced, while the madness of the other wrought

nly his own destruction."

The Romans were ready enough to grant their prayer and

are their safety ; it was among themselves that there was

!-^ire strife and peril. For the deserters, who thought that they

^\ ere to be surrendered to the Romans, made the mercenaries

U 2

292

LIVY.

BOOK XXV.

Outbreak and

Mnssacre at

Syractise.

Return of the

Syracusan

ttiToys from

Marcellus

feel the same fear. Snatching up thek arms they first
slaughtered the praetors, and then rushed hither and thither to
massacre the Syracusans. They slew in their fury all whom
chance threw in their way, and plundered all on which they
could lay hands. Next, not to be without leaders, they chose
six officers, three to command the Achradina and three the
Island. At last the tumult subsided; the mercenaries made
inquiries as to the negotiations with the Romans, and, the real
facts beginning to disclose themselves, they saw that their case
was different from that of the deserters.

30. At this opportune moment the envoys returned from
Marcellus. A false suspicion had, they said, excited them, and
the Romans had no ground for insisting on their punishment. One
of the three officers in command at the Achradina was a Spaniard,
named Moericus, and a soldier from the Spanish auxiliaries had
been designedly sent to him along with the envoys' attendants.
The man had a private interview with Moericus,and first described
the state of Spain as he left it ; he had lately come from tha;
country. " All was there falling under the arms of Rome ; he
"might, by rendering the Romans a valuable service, be a
"leading man among his countrymen, whether he had a mind
"to fight for Rome or to go back to his native state. But if, on
"the other hand, he persisted in preferring to be besieged, what
"hope had he, hemmed in, as he was, by sea and land ?"

This impressed Mcericus, and, when it was decided to senc
envoys to Marcellus, he sent his brother with them. The
brother was conducted apart from the other envoys by the same
Spaniard to Marcellus. Having received an assurance of safety
and arranged the order of proceeding, he returned to the,
Achradina. Moericus, to divert all minds from the suspicion d
treachery, at once declared " that he did not like the going t(
" and fro of envoys, that they ought neither to admit nor to seni
" any, and that, to secure greater vigilance in the defence, sui
" able posts should be assigned to the officers, so that eac
" might be responsible for guarding his own position." All agree
to this assignment of different posts. To Moericus fell the portioi
stretching from the fountain of Arethusa to the mouth of th(
great harbour. Of this he made the Romans aware. Marcellu
accordingly gave orders that at night a transport vessel witl

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 293

armed soldiers was to be towed by a chain from a quadrireme book'xxv.
to the Achradina, and the troops landed in the neighbour- Tk' Achradina
hood of the gate near the fountain of Arethusa. This the Treachery of
having been done in the fourth watch, and Moericus, accord- °*^^°/^'"^ officers

° , of tlu garriiOH.

ing to the arrangement, having admitted the soldiers, when
landed, within the gate, Marcellus at day-break assaulted in full
force the fortifications of the Achradina. Not only did he con-
centrate on himself the efforts of the garrison of the Achradina,
but bodies of armed men also hurried up from the Island,
leaving their posts in order to repel the fury of the Roman
attack. Meanwhile, amid the confusion, some light vessels,
ready equipped, had sailed round to the Island. There they
landed soldiers who suddenly rushed on the half-manned out-
posts and open entrance of the gate, out of which the armed
men had just issued. After a slight struggle they took the
Island, which in the panic and flight of its guards had been
deserted. None, indeed, had less encouragement or resolution
of their own to stand their ground than the deserters, for not
liking to trust themselves even to their own comrades they fled
in the middle of the engagement. Marcellus, as soon as he
j learnt that the Island was t^ken, and one quarter, of the
I Achradina occupied and that Moericus with his garrison had
Ijoined his troops, sounded a retreat, fearing that the king's
treasures, the fame of which exceeded the reality, would be
pillaged.

31. The soldiers' impetuosity having been thus checked, the T!te SyracnsaHs
deserters in the Achradina had space and opportunity for flight, renderT
wiiije the Syracusans, now at last released from their fears,
threw open the gates of the Achradina, and sent envoys to
'arcellus, praying' only for safety for themselves and their
|:hildren. Marcellus called a council to which he also invited
hose Syracusans who had been driven from their home and
ere within the Roman lines. His reply was : " Hiero's
1' good services to the Roman people during fifty years were not
f more in number than the crimes committed against the Roman
people in the last few years by the men who had possessed
-hemselves of Syracuse. Most of these, however, have
'. ccoiled on the heads on which they ought to fall, and the
Syracusans have exacted from themselves a far more terrible

294

LIVY.

BOOK XXV.

Syracuse sur-
rendered and
j)lHndered.
Death of
A rchimedes.

A Roman fleet

ravages the

country round

Utica.

" vengeance for broken treaties than the Roman people wished.
" For myself I have been besieging Syracuse for nearly three
" years, not that Rome might make the city her slave, but to
" save it from being held captive and crushed by the leaders of
" the deserters. What the Syracusans could have done has been
" plainly shown by those among them who are within the
'' Roman lines, or by the Spanish chief, Mcericus, who has
" surrendered his post, or, lastly, by the Syracusan's own tardy
" but courageous resolution. For all the trials and perils I
" have so long endured by land and sea before the walls of
'' Syracuse, the fact that I have succeeded in taking the city is
" by no means such a reward to me as its preservation would
" have been."

A quaestor was then despatched to the Island with a military
force to receive and guard the royal treasure. The city was
given up to the soldiers to be plundered, sentries having been
posted in the houses of those citizens who had been within the
Roman lines. Amid many horrible deeds of fury and rapacity,
Archimedes, so tradition . records, amid all the tumult that
soldiers scouring a captured city for plunder could stir up,
was intent on some diagrams which he had traced on the
sand, when he was killed by a soldier who knew not who he was.
Marcellus was deeply grieved, and gave directions for his burial.
Search too, it is said, was made for his kindred, for his name
and memory secured protection and honour.

Such, as nearly as can be told, were the circumstances of the
taking of Syracuse. The spoil was almost greater than would
have been found in Carthage had that city, which was waging
an equal contest with Rome, then been captured. A few days
before Syracuse was taken, Titus Otacilius crossed with eighty
quinqueremes from Lilybasum to Utica. He entered the
harbour before day-break and took some transports laden with
corn ; then he landed, and, after ravaging much of the country
round Utica, went back to his ships with plunder of every
description. He returned to Lilybseum within three days from
the time he left it, with a hundred and thirty transport vessels
laden with corn and booty. The corn he at once sent off to
Syracuse. But for this seasonable supply, victors and vanquished
alike would have been on the brink of a disastrous famine.

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 295

32. That same summer in Spain, where for nearly two years book xxv.
absolutely nothing worthy of mention had occurred, and where Affairs in
the contest had been carried on more by diplomacy than by arms,

the Roman generals, on leaving their winter-quarters, united
their forces. Then they called a council in which there was a
unanimous agreement of opinion. As up to that point they had
merely succeeded in holding Hasdrubal back from advancing on
Italy, it was now thought that the time had come for an effort to
finish the war in Spain, and that for this they had sufficient
strength, with a reinforcement of twenty thousand Celtiberij who
that winter had been roused to arms. There were three armies. The Cartkagin-
Hasdrubal, the son of Gisgo, and Mago had united their camps, ''"»-s««'^^'ter
and were about five days' march from the Romans. Hasdrubal
the son of Hamilcar, an old commander in Spain, was still
nearer to them, having an army in the neighbourhood of a town
named Amtorgis. The Roman generals were anxious that he
should first be crushed, and they had a confident assurance that
they had sufficient, and more than sufficient, strength for that
purpose. Only one fear remained, that when he had been routed,
the other Hasdrubal and Mago would retire panic-stricken into
trackless forests and mountains, and there prolong the war.
They therefore thought it best to divide their forces'into two fhe Sdpios
j armies, and to embrace in one simultaneous effort the whole '^"''f^J!!"''
I Spanish war. The division was so arranged that Publius Cor-
inelius was to march against Mago and Hasdrubal with two-
thirds of the Roman and allied forces, while Cneius Cornelius
"'"^ to carry on the conflict against Hamilcar, the son of Barca,
a third part of the old army reinforced by the Celtiberi.
130th the generals and their armies, with the Celtiberi in ad-
■ ;vance, marched together to the town of Amtorgis and encamped
in sight of the enemy, a river parting them. Here Cneius
Scipio halted with the force before mentioned, while Publius
f jScipio set out to his appointed part in the war.

33. Hasdrubal, who understood barbarian treachery in its
ivery phase, and especially that of all those tribes among whom
or so many years he had been fighting, on perceiving how small
vas the Roman army in the camp and that all their hopes rested
'•n their Celtiberian reinforcements, availed himself of the easy
nterchange of speech between two camps full of Spaniards,

army.

. *9^

LIVY.

BOOK XXV,

T/ie Celtileri

desert Cneius

Scipio.

Scij,!0 retreats.

Perilous position

of Publivs

Scipio.

and in secret interviews with the chiefs of the Celtiberi induced
them by a great bribe to promise that they would withdraw their
troops. The act did not strike them as outrageous ; for its object
was not to make them turn their arms against the Romans, while
pay, that would have sufficed for fighting, was offered them for
not fighting. Most of them too liked rest, for its own sake, and,
above all, return to their homes and the pleasure of seeing their
friends and their -possessions. Consequently, the entire host
was as easily persuaded as its leaders, nor had they the least
fear from the Romans, few as these were, should they attempt to
retain them by force. This, indeed, is a danger against which
Roman generals will always have to guard, who should look on
such instances as warnings not to confide so completely in
foreign auxiliaries as to let their camp be without a superiority
in their own proper strength and resources. The Celtiberi
suddenly took up their standards and marched off, and when the
Romans asked the reason and implored them to stay, they
replied that they were called away by a war at home. As soon
as Scipio saw that he could not retain his allies either by
entreaty or force, that without them he was no match for the
enemy and could not again join his brother, while no other safe
measure was at once practicable, he resolved to retreat so far
as he was able. All his vigilance was directed to the one object
of not encountering his foe on open ground. The enemy had
crossed the river and was pressing closely on the footsteps of
the retreating army.

34. Publius Scipio at the same time was under the pres-
sure of a fear as great and of a danger even greater from a
new enemy. There was a young man, Masinissa, then an ally
of the Carthaginians, and subsequently made famous and
powerful by the friendship of Rome. On this occasion he first
opposed Scipio's advance with some Numidian cavalry, and
then threatened him unceasingly day and night, not merely
cutting off stragglers who went far, from the camp for wood and
fodder, but riding up to the camp itself, frequently rushing into
the midst of the sentries and so spreading the utmost confusion
everywhere. Often, even at night, there was the alarm of a sud-
den attack at the camp gates and rampart, and there was neither
place nor time at which the Romans were free from fear and

SECOND PUNIC WAR. 29*7

anxiety. Driven within their hnes and deprived of the use of BOOK XXV.
everything, they were almost in a state of regular blockade
which, it was evident, would become closer if Indibilis, who
was advancing, according to rumour, with seven thousand five
hundred Suessetani, should ettect a junction with the Cartha-
ginians. Upon this Scipio, though a cautious and far-seeing
general, yielding to necessity, formed the rash design of en-
countering Indibilis by night and fighting a battle wherever
he met him.

Accordingly he left a small force in his camp under the He fights at a.
command of his lieutenant, Titus Fonteius, set out at midnight, "'^' '^"'"' '^^^'
and engaged the enemy the moment he encountered them.
They fought in order of march rather than of battle ; still,
even in their hurry and confusion, the Romans had the advantage.
But suddenly the Numidian cavalry, whom, the general thought
he had eluded, threw themselves on both flanks and caused the
greatest panic. A fresh action had now begun with these
Numidians, when a third enemy appeared, the Carthaginian
generals, who came up with the Roman rear while it was
engaged. A double battle had thus to be faced on all sides by
the Romans, who knew not in what direction and against what
enemy they were to close their lines and charge. While their
general was fighting and encouraging his men and exposing
himself wherever the conflict was hottest, his right side was
pierced by a lance. The enemy's column which had attacked
the band that had closed round their general, seeing Scipio drop
lifeless from his horse, ran in eager joy hither andthither shouting
the news that the Roman general had fallen. The word spread
everywhere, with the result that the enemy seemed to be unques-
itionably victorious and the Romans vanquished. The general He is slain and
ifallen, there began an instant flight from the field, but, though '^ ^7rsed. "
(there was no great difficulty in breaking through the Numidians
pand other light armed auxiliaries, still it was barely possible to
Isscape such a multitude of cavalry and of foot soldiers who rival-
ed horses in speed. And so almost more perished in the flight
han in the battle, and not a man would have survived had not
he day been rapidly declining and night overtaken them.

35. Promptly improving their success, the Carthaginian
enerals immediately after the battle, barely allowing the

i

298

LIVY.

BOOK XXV.

The victorious

Carthaginians

join Hasdrubal.

Cneius Scipio
continues his
retreat, closely
pressed by tlie
enemy.

He takes up his

position on a

hill.

soldiers necessary, rest, hurried their troops at quick march to
Hasdrubal, the son of Hamilcar, in the confident hope that, as
soon as they had joined their forces, the war might be ended.
On their arrival the armies and generals, overjoyed at their late
victory, exchanged hearty congratulations on having destroyed
a commander vi^ith the whole of a vast army, while they now
expected, as a certainty, another equal triumph. Tidings of
this terrible disaster had not yet reached the Romans, but there
was a gloomy stillness among them and a silent forebodhig, such
as commonly haunts the mind which feels the presentiment of
impending calamity. The general himself, besides seeing that
he was deserted by his allies and that the enemy's forces were so
vastly augmented, was also inclined by his own conjectures and
inferences to suspect the occurrence of disaster rather than to
have any encouraging hope. " How," he asked himself, " could
" Hasdrubal and Mago have brought up their army without
" fighting unless they had despatched their part of the war?
" How was it that.his brother had not opposed their march, or
" followed them so that he might at least join his forces with
" those of his brother, if he were unable to hinder the junction
" of the generals and armies of the enemy ? " Amid these
harassing apprehensions he decided that his only safe course
for the present was to retreat as far as possible, and he accord-
ingly made a considerable march in one night, unknown to the
enemy, who consequently did not move. At dawn, perceiving
that their foe was gone, they sent on the Numidians in advance
and began a pursuit with the utmost possible rapidity. Before
nightfall the Numidians had come up with the Romans, and
were dashing now on their rear, now on their flanks. They
halted, and began to form their line for defence as well as they
could ; still Scipio kept urging them to fight and push on at the
same time, before the infantry overtook them.

36. Meanwhile, what with fighting and halting, for some time
but little progress was made, and.night was now at hand, when
Scipio recalled his men from battle, rallied them, and led them
up a hill, not indeed a very safe position, especially for dispirited
troops, but still considerably higher than the surrounding ground.
Here his infantry, drawn up round the baggage and cavalry,
which were placed in the centre, at first repulsed without difficulty

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

299

the repeated attacks of the Numidians ; when, however, the BOOK xxv.
three generals came up in full force with three regular armies,
and it was evident that his men would not be strong enough
to defend the position merely by their arms, without forti-
fied lines, Scipio began to look around him, and to considigr
whether he could anyhow intrench himself. But the hill was
so bare, and the ground so stony, that he could find neither
bushes for cutting palisades nor earth suitable for forming a
rampart, or constructing a fosse, or for any other work. Nor
was any part of it sufficiently steep or precipitous to render the
enemy's approach and ascent difficult ; all was on a gentle
slope. Still, to oppose to the enemy some semblance of in-
trenchments, they tied the pack-saddles and the beasts' burdens
together and they built them up, so to speak, to the usual height
as a defence round them. Not having pack-saddles enough
for the work, they piled up baggage of every description by
way of barrier.

The Carthaginian armies, on their arrival, made a very easy He is attacked
march up the hill ; but the unusual look of the rampart, which • ^ar^wX'^*
struck them at first as a sort of miracle, made them pause, armies.
while their officers on all sides shouted at them, " Why do you

I" stand still? Why not pull and tear to pieces that ridiculous
" thing, hardly strong enough to stop women or children ? The
" enemy is caught and taken, hiding behind his baggage." But,
ithough the officers taunted their men with these contemptuous
jvords, it was no easy matter to leap over or clear away the
)bstacles opposed to them, or to cut through the close mass of
)ack-saddles buried in a heap of baggage. Long was the delay
tefore the obstacles were pushed aside and yielded a passage to

the armed soldiers ; and when this had been accomplished at most 0/ his men.
everal points, the camp was at once everywhere stormed, and
ne handful of panic-stricken men was promiscuously slaughtered
'laeir numerous and victorious enemy. Yet many of the
ii)s fled to the neighbouring woods, and made their escape
the camp of Publius Scipio, of which his lieutenant, Titus
nteius, had charge. Cneius Scipio, say some, was slain on
hill in the enemy's first attack ; according to others, he
;:aped with a few men to a tower near his camp. This was
rrounded with fire ; its gates, which no efforts of the enemy

His camp is

stormed and Jie

is slain with

300 LIVY.

BOOK XXV. could force, were burnt through. Thus it was at last taken
and all "within, with the general himself, slaughtered.

^l%iuScMos" ^^ ^^^ ^" ^'^^ eighth year after his arrival in Spain, and thi
twenty-ninth day after his brother's death, that Gneius Scipic
perished. The grief at their fate was not greater in Rome thai
it was throughout the whole of Spain. At home, indeed, th(
loss of two armies, the defection of the province, and the public
disaster, claimed a part of the sorrow. It was the general;
themselves that Spain lamented ; Cneius Scipio chiefly, inas'
much as he had ruled the country longer, had been the first tc
secure its favour, the first also to give it a specimen of Roman
justice and moderation.
A Roman knight yj . To all appearance, our armies were utterly destroyed.
fortunes of Rome ^"^^ Spain lost, when one man restored the fallen fortunes ol

. "' Spain. Rome. Among the soldiers was a certain Lucius, son of Septimus
Marcius, a Roman knight, and a young man of spirit, whose
enterprising temper and ability were considerably above the
station in which he was born. To the highest natural capacity
had been added Cneius Scipio's discipline, under which for
many years he had thoroughly learnt the whole science of war.
He now rallied some of the fugitive soldiers, and others he
withdrew from the garrisons, and having thus formed a by no
means contemptible army, he joined Titus Fonteius, Publius^
Scipio's lieutenant. So superior to . others was this Romar
knight in influence with the soldiers and in distinction, tha
as soon as a camp had been established on this side the Ebn
and it was decided to appoint a general of our armies b
the suffrages of the men, an unanimous vote, given as the;
came up one after another to their posts and intrenchment-
conferred the supreme command on Lucius Marcius. Aftc
this, the whole of their time, and it was but brief, was devote
to fortifying the camp and collecting supplies, every order bein. ^
carried out by the men with promptitude and with no despo^
dency of heart. But when news came that Hasdrubal, the so
of Gisgo, had crossed the Ebro on his way to stamp out
remains of the war, and was rapidly approaching, and tl
soldiers saw the signal for battle given by a new general, the
then remembered what men they had but lately had to leal
them, what officers, and what forces they had had to rely oil

SECOND PUNIC WAR.

He defeats a

Carthaginian

army.

when they went into the field, and all burst of a sudden into tears BOOK xxv

and smote their heads. Some lifted their hands to heaven, and

upbraided the gods, while others, as they lay stretched on the

ground, passionately called each on his old commander by

name. It was impossible to hush their mournful cries, though

the centurions sought to rouse their men, while Marcius himself

both soothed and reproved them. " Why," he asked, " have you

" abandoned yourselves to womanish and useless laments, in-

" stead of rather whetting your courage for your own defence

" and the defence, of the State, and not suffering your generals

" to have fallen unavenged ? "

At that moment was heard a shout and the blast of trumpets,
for the enemy was now close to the intrenchments. Instantly
grief was changed into fury, and there was everywhere a rush
to arms. They seemed fired with madness, as they hurried
from all parts to the camp-gates, and charged the foe, who was
advancing carelessly and in disorder. The suddenness of the
movement at once struck panic into the Carthaginians ; they
wondered whence such a host of enemies had thus in a moment
started up from an army well-nigh destroyed ; how vanquished
and routed men could show such fearlessness and self-confidence ;
who had suddenly risen to command them, now that the two
Scipios had fallen, or who had given the signal for battle. Con-
Ifounded by these many strange surprises, they at first slowly
'■d, perplexed and amazed, and then, hurled back by a
ous onslaught, turned and fled. There must have been
r a frightful slaughter of fugitives, or else a rash and peri-
. . . charge in pursuit, had not Marcius promptly given the
rtord of recall. Halting at the foremost standards, and himself
molding back some of his men, he restrained the excited troops,
md then led them back into the camp, still thirsting for slaughter
md blood. The Carthaginians, who had been at first driven
11 confusion from the enemy's lines, seeing that there was no
.lit, thought that the halt was due to fear, and went back
i-uinfully into their camp at slow march. Equally careless
'.'crc they in guarding it ; for though the enemy was close to
jhem, they thought to themselves that these were but the re-
gains of the two armies destroyed a few days since.

Marcius, accordingly, noting this utter negligence on the

i

LIVY.

fie resolves to

a-ttack their

iainp.

Speech to his
7iien.

BOOK XXV. enemy's part, after reconnoitring their position, resolved on a
step which at first sight looked like rashness rather than courage.
He would himself attack the enemy's camp, thinking it an easier
matter to storm Hasdrubal's lines while he was alone, than to
defend his own against a second junction of three armies and
three generals. Besides, either he would retrieve their fallen
fortunes, should he be successful in his attempt, or, if he were
repulsed, still,